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Galbraith takes his leave of the affluent society
By Holcomb Noble, New York
May 1, 2006
Iconoclast: John Kenneth Galbraith.
John Kenneth Galbraith, the iconoclastic American economist, teacher and diplomat who was an unapologetically liberal member of the political and academic establishment, has died at the age of 97.
He was one of the most widely read authors in the history of economics. Among his books was The Affluent Society, one of those rare works that forced a nation to re-examine its values.
He wrote fluidly, even on complex topics, and many of his compelling phrases — among them "the affluent society", "conventional wisdom" and "countervailing power" — became part of the language.
An imposing presence, lanky and angular at 203 centimetres tall, Galbraith was consulted frequently by national leaders. He strove to change the national conversation about power and its nature in the modern world by explaining how the planning of giant corporations superseded market mechanisms.
Galbraith, a revered lecturer for generations of Harvard students, always commanded attention. He treated economics as an aspect of society and culture rather than as an arcane discipline of numbers.
Robert Lekachman, a liberal economist who shared many of Galbraith's views on an affluent society they both thought not generous enough to its poor nor sufficiently attendant to its public needs, once described the quality of his discourse as "witty, supple, eloquent, and edged with that sheen of malice which the fallen sons of Adam always find attractive when it is directed at targets other than themselves".
From the 1930s to the 1990s, Galbraith helped define the national political debate, influencing both the direction of the Democratic Party and the thinking of its leaders.
He advised president John F. Kennedy and served as his ambassador to India. Though he eventually broke with president Lyndon Johnson over the war in Vietnam, he helped conceive of Johnson's Great Society program and wrote a major presidential address outlining its purposes.
In the course of his career he undertook a number of government assignments, including the organisation of price controls in World War II and speech writing for presidents Roosevelt, Kennedy and Johnson.
Other economists did not generally share Galbraith's views on production and consumption, and his peers did not rank him among the top theorists. Such criticism did not sit well with Galbraith, a man no one ever called modest, who would respond that his critics had recognised that his ideas were "deeply subversive of the established orthodoxy".
He is survived by his wife, three sons and six grandchildren.
- New York Times
One of the most important post-war economists. Rest in Peace.
By Holcomb Noble, New York
May 1, 2006
Iconoclast: John Kenneth Galbraith.
John Kenneth Galbraith, the iconoclastic American economist, teacher and diplomat who was an unapologetically liberal member of the political and academic establishment, has died at the age of 97.
He was one of the most widely read authors in the history of economics. Among his books was The Affluent Society, one of those rare works that forced a nation to re-examine its values.
He wrote fluidly, even on complex topics, and many of his compelling phrases — among them "the affluent society", "conventional wisdom" and "countervailing power" — became part of the language.
An imposing presence, lanky and angular at 203 centimetres tall, Galbraith was consulted frequently by national leaders. He strove to change the national conversation about power and its nature in the modern world by explaining how the planning of giant corporations superseded market mechanisms.
Galbraith, a revered lecturer for generations of Harvard students, always commanded attention. He treated economics as an aspect of society and culture rather than as an arcane discipline of numbers.
Robert Lekachman, a liberal economist who shared many of Galbraith's views on an affluent society they both thought not generous enough to its poor nor sufficiently attendant to its public needs, once described the quality of his discourse as "witty, supple, eloquent, and edged with that sheen of malice which the fallen sons of Adam always find attractive when it is directed at targets other than themselves".
From the 1930s to the 1990s, Galbraith helped define the national political debate, influencing both the direction of the Democratic Party and the thinking of its leaders.
He advised president John F. Kennedy and served as his ambassador to India. Though he eventually broke with president Lyndon Johnson over the war in Vietnam, he helped conceive of Johnson's Great Society program and wrote a major presidential address outlining its purposes.
In the course of his career he undertook a number of government assignments, including the organisation of price controls in World War II and speech writing for presidents Roosevelt, Kennedy and Johnson.
Other economists did not generally share Galbraith's views on production and consumption, and his peers did not rank him among the top theorists. Such criticism did not sit well with Galbraith, a man no one ever called modest, who would respond that his critics had recognised that his ideas were "deeply subversive of the established orthodoxy".
He is survived by his wife, three sons and six grandchildren.
- New York Times
One of the most important post-war economists. Rest in Peace.
I only just saw this on ABC news. I wasn't even watching the screen but his voice is instantly recognisable.