John Kenneth Galbraith
Born: 10-14-1908
John Kenneth Galbraith was a Canadian-American economist and prolific author known for his wit and accessible writing style. Born in 1908, he became a leading voice on economic issues in the 20th century, serving as an advisor to several U.S. presidents. Galbraith's influential works, such as "The Affluent Society" and "The New Industrial State," critiqued consumerism and explored the complexities of modern economies. He passed away in 2006.
Book summaries for books written by John Kenneth Galbraith
Quotes
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.
The enemy of the conventional wisdom is not ideas but the march of events.
In the United States, the business corporation as an institution, and the people who control it as individuals, frequently have had an excessive and too-decisive voice in shaping the course of our economy.
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.
In the industrial world ... the only things that really matter are money and power.
The modern conservative is filled with the passionate intensity of those who do not have a good argument.
The enemy of government in this case is very different from the freedom of the individual. The two are, in fact, often hostile to each other.
There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.
The study of money, above all other fields in economics, is one in which complexity is used to disguise truth or to evade truth, not to reveal it.
Conventional wisdom is the refuge of minds that are not able to explore.
People of privilege will always risk their complete destruction rather than surrender any material part of their advantage.
The absence of a sense of responsibility is the most far-reaching consequence of the corporation's historical development.