The Galbraith Reader

by John Kenneth Galbraith

Selected writings display the evolution of Galbraith's economic reasoning against the background of his varied life experiences, interests, and concerns

Genres: Economics, Philosophy, Politics

544 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

John Kenneth Galbraith was a Canadian-American economist. He was a Keynesian and an institutionalist, a leading proponent of 20th-century American liberalism and democratic socialism. His books on economic topics were bestsellers in the 1950s and 1960s. A prolific author, he produced four dozen books & over a 1000 articles on many subjects. Among his most famous works was his economics trilogy: American Capitalism (1952), The Affluent Society (1958) & The New Industrial State (1967). He taught at Harvard University for many years. He was active in politics, serving in the administrations of Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John Kennedy, and Lyndon Johnson. He served as US Ambassador to India under John F. Kennedy.

He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom twice: one in 1946 from President Truman, and another in 2000 from President Clinton. He was also awarded the Order of Canada in 1997, and in 2001, the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award, for strengthening ties between India and the USA.

Reviews

[Connie Tinoco · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were parts I disagreed with. Galbraith believes that after man has everything he needs he would want less by being satisfied with primaries. I don't believe this is true. Especially in our generation. However, he gives a good argument in his article, "The Dependence Effect". I do agree with him on the fact that necessity is more important than want. The mindset of every individual is different. Some people would consider really expensive clothes a priority over food and other would think the other way. Powerful, effective advertising would convince a person of seeing a want turned into a necessity. People better be careful to get swallowed by this strategic thinking. I recommended re-reading "The Goose that Laid the Golden Egg" to set one's priorities straight...

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful introduction to Galbraith's writing. Economist, ambassador, professor, and author of fiction, he had many interests. The pieces on the 1929 stock market crash, the depression, and letters to JFK and the first hand accounts of the Kennedy funeral all made for interesting reading. Galbraith was an occasionally stilted writer but did have a dry with which tempered his sometimes arid recounting of his official duties in Washington. I particularly enjoyed his reminisces of growing up in Canada and the string Scots influence.