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In Memory of John Kenneth Galbraith
John Kenneth Galbraith, 1908-2006
John Kenneth Galbraith, a multiple degreed professor, lecturer, writer and economic advisor, was one of the most influential American economists of the twentieth-century. He was born October 15, 1908 in Canada and died on April 29, 2006 in Cambridge, Mass. Galbraith was a controversial economist who followed Keynesian economics, institutionalism and was a proponent of political liberalism and progressive values. He wrote dozens of books and numerous articles and was known for simplifying and popularizing economic topics.
With clarity, wit and a keen social conscience, he has made complex economic theories and processes comprehensible to a wide audience and highlighted the social and ethical impacts of economic policies," the citation said. "A tireless reformer of the free enterprise system, he has resolutely promoted social justice and challenged conventional assumptions in his Harvard classroom and in the public arena.Text from Presidential Medal of Freedom, presented by President Bill Clinton, 2000
Galbraith's book, The Affluent Society, 1958, became a bestseller. He observed that America was developing a wealthy private sector - yet had not seen the resources of the public sector increase. He believed that this continuing income disparity was caused by the lack of social and physical infrastructure.
The family which takes its mauve and cerise, air-conditioned, power-steered, and power-braked automobile out for a tour passes through cities that are badly paved, made hideous by litter, blighted buildings, billboards, and posts for wires that should long since have been put underground. John Kenneth Galbraith, The Affluent Society (1958)
Galbraith served in the administrations of Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Baines Johnson. From 1961 to 1963, he served as ambassador to India.
Nearly all of our political comment originates in Washington. Washington politicians, after talking things over with each other, relay misinformation to Washington journalists who, after further intramural discussion, print it where it is thoughtfully read by the same politicians. It is the only completely closed system for the recycling of garbage that has yet been devised.John Kenneth Galbraith
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