Michael Perelman wrote:
>
> We are better than the Chinese. We hypocritically deny engaging in
> such activities. As Frank Knight, the Chicago economist, supposedly
> said, "You should not criticize hypocrisy; at least hypocrites aspire
> to noble ideas."
I think that idea is much older. I'm not sure who first said it, it may be a traditional proverb: Hypocrisy is the compliment that vice pays to virtue.
Carrol