It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it.
Sinclair wrote it in 1935 after his California governorship campaign. It describes incentive-shaped perception rather than dishonesty, which is what makes it hard to correct by argument.
In practice
- A department asked to review whether its own function is still needed returns a report recommending that it expand.
- A consultant paid by the day cannot see the shortcut that would finish the work in a week, and is not lying.