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The Selected Letters of John Kenneth Galbraith invites readers to join in conversations with presidents and first ladies, diplomats and schoolchildren, the McCarthy 'loyalty board', foreign heads of state and fellow economists, and a host of other correspondents. In his long and cosmopolitan life, Galbraith wrote thousands of letters, and Richard P. F. Holt has selected the most important of these from his archival research, now available in print for the first time. The letters provide an intimate account of the three main political goals to which Galbraith devoted his professional life: ending war, fighting poverty, and improving quality of life by achieving a balance between private and public goods in an affluent capitalist society. Showing his thoughtful insights and charming wit, this collection confirms Galbraith as a man of broad learning, superb literary skills, and deeply held progressive ideals.
In an early letter, Galbraith mentions his "ambition to be the most reticent adviser in modern political history." But as a respected intellectual and author of the celebrated The Affluent Society, he was not to be positioned so lightly, and his letters are replete with valuable advice about economics, public policy, and the federal bureaucracy.
Money is nothing more than what is commonly exchanged for goods or services, so why has understanding it become so complicated? In Money, renowned economist John Kenneth Galbraith cuts through the confusions surrounding the subject to present a compelling and accessible account of a topic that affects us all. He tells the fascinating story of money, the key factors that shaped its development, and the lessons that can be learned from its history. He describes the creation and evolution of monetary systems and explains how finance, credit, and banks work in the global economy. Galbraith also shows that, when it comes to money, nothing is truly new—least of all inflation and fraud.
Criticism of the present economic system of the USA and proposals for comprehensive economic policy reform - covers the general economic theory of advanced economic development, consumption, and the concept of the household, the market system in relation to the service sector and the self employed, economic planning, price policy, inflation, income distribution, fiscal policy, the environment, technological change, the role of women, etc.
With searing wit and incisive commentary, John Kenneth Galbraith redefined America's perception of itself in The New Industrial State, one of his landmark works. The United States is no longer a free-enterprise society, Galbraith argues, but a structured state controlled by the largest companies. Advertising is the means by which these companies manage demand and create consumer "need" where none previously existed. Multinational corporations are the continuation of this power system on an international level. The goal of these companies is not the betterment of society, but immortality through an uninterrupted stream of earnings. First published in 1967, The New Industrial State continues to resonate today.
The world has become increasingly separated into the haves and have-nots. In The Culture of Contentment, renowned economist John Kenneth Galbraith shows how a contented class—not the privileged few but the socially and economically advantaged majority—defend their comfortable status at a cost. Middle-class voting against regulation and increased taxation that would remedy pressing social ills has created a culture of immediate gratification, leading to complacency and hampering long-term progress. Only economic disaster, military action, or the eruption of an angry underclass seem capable of changing the status quo. A groundbreaking critique, The Culture of Contentment shows how the complacent majority captures the political process and determines economic policy.
In his memoirs, John Kenneth Galbraith recalls amusingly, even brilliantly, the important and low moments in his life, the men and women he met who were great, only interesting, entertaining or even absurd. Galbraith studied agriculture in his native Canada and agricultural economics at UC-Berkeley. He taught at the University of California, served briefly in FDR’s administration and went on to Harvard. In Cambridge, England, he discovered the new economics of John Maynard Keynes. During World War II in Washington, he held the key job of organizing and administering the system of wartime price controls. After the war, Galbraith directed the survey that interrogated former Nazi leaders to assess the effects of the air war on the German economy. He then worked for the State Department as administrator for economic affairs in the occupied countries and served as an editor of Fortune when the magazine employed some of the best writers around. Galbraith returned to Harvard in 1948 and wrote three of the most influential books on economics of his time, The Affluent Society, The New Industrial State and Economics and the Public Purpose. In these lively memoirs, the author relates all of this and more — his two major political campaigns, with Adlai E. Stevenson for whom he was adviser and speech-writer, and John F. Kennedy, for whom he campaigned across the country; his years as ambassador in India; and his long opposition to the Vietnam war. And he shares the lessons learned from these experiences. “On every subject Mr. Galbraith is succinct and witty... The book is full of strong opinion and proceeds by the vehicle of anecdote... The serious business of the book... is to trace the steps of its author’s astonishingly varied and useful life... Mr. Galbraith’s vigor of expression, as well as an account of a period of gloom and psychotherapy, prevents the writing from ever sounding impersonal. That serious business is also to set the record straight — on what his books were about and how he evolved his theory of The Affluent Society and The New Industrial State, as two of his most important works were named; on why the bombing of Germany during World War II was less than useless, why it was patently unnecessary to wage atomic warfare on Japan and why he came to be a dissenter on the war in Vietnam. On inflation. On the ‘secular priesthood’ that once presided at the State Department. And, enchantingly, on such movers and shakers he came to know well as the New Dealer Leon Henderson, Paul Baran (‘the most interesting economist I have ever known’), Bernard M. Baruch, Adlai E. Stevenson, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.” — Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, The New York Times “As a raconteur and a literary stylist, [Galbraith] stands with the best... As entertainment, the book is a total success. Its charm comes from the combination of Mr. Galbraith’s smooth comic timing and his not always charitable wit.” — James Fallows, The New York Times “Galbraith ranks with the most entertaining and provocative political writers in America in this century... Without Galbraith the political literature of our time would be far drearier.” — Gaddis Smith, Foreign Affairs “[Galbraith] has assembled a well-nigh complete record of what he has been up to, professionally at least, since leaving his family’s Ontario farm. The account is fascinating... The narrative... consistently holds the distinctive Galbraith style that makes all his books read like a nippy breeze.” — Geoffrey Colvin, Christian Science Monitor “Absorbing and irresistible.” — The New Yorker “An enjoyable book, full of fun, full of wisdom, and full of rare insights into the history of our times.” — The New Republic “A delightfully teeming book... Galbraith’s comic voice is a distinctive and durable literary achievement.” — Atlantic Monthly “A highly perceptive commentary on all our yesterdays... anecdotal, amusing, animated and above all, illuminating.” — John Barkham Reviews