DOCSLIB.ORG

Press Release for the Essential Galbraith Published by Houghton

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Press Release for the Essential Galbraith Published by Houghton Press Release The Essential Galbraith by John Kenneth Galbraith • Introduction • Also by John Kenneth Galbraith • Select reviews of Name-Dropping Selections from the Writings of the Economist of the Century Introduction John Kenneth Galbraith is a legend. His writing, interpreting the nature of economic life, has defined a century that encompassed profound changes in technology, communications, and business. The Essential Galbraith celebrates his contribution to our economic and cultural life by making available in one volume some of his most notable writing. In this volume you will find such seminal essays as "The Myth of Consumer Sovereignty," "The Technostructure," and "The Crash." For all twenty-one essays and excerpts, Mr. Galbraith has written a new introduction that helps place them in proper context and link them into a unified whole. The result is a fitting summation and a tribute to a rare intellectual life. The hallmark of this collection, and Galbraith's entire life's work, is his insistence that an economy be judged by the effect it has on the quality of life of current and future generations. Houghton Mifflin Company is also pleased to be able to re-release two works by Galbraith in companion trade paperback editions. Name-Dropping: From FDR On was chosen as a New York Times Notable Book. Drawing on a lifetime www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com 1 of 4 Copyright (c) 2003, Houghton Mifflin Company, All Rights Reserved of access to many of the greatest public figures, Galbraith creates a rich and uniquely personal history of the century — a history he helped to shape. We are invited to hear FDR on the Great Depression and World War II; Albert Speer, the Third Reich's architect and armaments minister, on the boorishness and incompetence of the Nazi leadership; John F. Kennedy, from youth to the presidency; Jacqueline Kennedy's shrewd judgments of the White House inner circle. In this clear-eyed, unsparing, and amusing look back at the world and the people he has known, Galbraith tells what these leaders did — how they looked to him then and how they look to him now — with unforgettable reminiscences and a rich infusion of engaging anecdotes. Name-Dropping charts the political landscape of the past sixty-five years with the dazzling insight, humor, and literary skill that mark Galbraith as one of the most distinguished writers of our time. In addition, Houghton is re-releasing Galbraith's third novel, A Tenured Professor. When America's most distinguished economist turned his observant eye and celebrated brilliance to fiction, the result was hailed by the New York Times as "his wisest and wittiest" novel yet. A respected Harvard professor creates an economic forecasting model identifying speculative folly, enabling him to uncover society's hidden agendas. It is at once a morality tale and a comic delight. John Kenneth Galbraith, born in 1908, is the Paul M. Warburg Professor of Economics Emeritus at Harvard University and a past president of both the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Economic Association. He is the author of thirty-one books spanning five decades, including The Affluent Society (recently reissued by Mariner books in a fortieth anniversary edition), The Good Society, and The Great Crash. He has honorary degrees from, among others, Harvard, Oxford, the University of Paris, the University of Toronto, and Moscow University. He is Commandeur de la Légion d'Honneur, and in 1997 he was inducted into the Order of Canada. Also by John Kenneth Galbraith • NAME-DROPPING: FROM FDR ON (Houghton Mifflin cloth, 1999) • A JOURNEY THROUGH ECONOMIC TIME (Houghton Mifflin cloth, 1994; Houghton Mifflin paper, 1995) • A TENURED PROFESSOR (Houghton Mifflin cloth, 1990; Houghton Mifflin paper, 1991) www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com 2 of 4 Copyright (c) 2003, Houghton Mifflin Company, All Rights Reserved • A VIEW FROM THE STANDS: OF PEOPLE, POLITICS, MILITARY POWER AND THE ARTS (Houghton Mifflin cloth, 1986) • CAPITALISM, COMMUNISM AND COEXISTENCE: FROM THE BITTER PAST TO A BETTER PROSPECT (Houghton Mifflin cloth, 1988) • ECONOMICS IN PERSPECTIVE (Houghton Mifflin cloth, 1987; Houghton Mifflin paper, 1988) • TRIUMPH, 1993 ANNIVERSARY EDITION (Houghton Mifflin paper, 1993) • THE AFFLUENT SOCIETY (Houghton Mifflin cloth, 1984; Houghton Mifflin paper, 1998) • THE ANATOMY OF POWER (Houghton Mifflin cloth, 1983; Houghton Mifflin paper, 1985) • THE CULTURE OF CONTENTMENT (Houghton Mifflin cloth, 1992; Houghton Mifflin paper, 1993) • THE GOOD SOCIETY: THE HUMANE AGENDA (Houghton Mifflin cloth, 1996; Houghton Mifflin paper, 1997) • THE GREAT CRASH (Houghton Mifflin cloth, 1979; Houghton Mifflin paper, 1988, rev. 1997) • THE NEW INDUSTRIAL STATE (Houghton Mifflin cloth, 1985) • THE SCOTCH (Houghton Mifflin cloth, 1985) • A LIFE IN OUR TIMES (Houghton Mifflin cloth, 1981) • INDIA NOW AND THROUGH TIME (Houghton Mifflin cloth, 1980) Select reviews of Name-Dropping "Name-Dropping is the most delightful book of the year — shrewd, irreverent, penetrating and hilarious." — Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. "Name-Dropping: From FDR On is mischievously and merrily unrepentant." — Boston Globe "It is not usual for a man past his ninetieth birthday to write a book that is as fresh and lively as the work of a thirty-year-old. But John Kenneth Galbraith is not a usual man, and he has done it." — New York Times "[Galbraith's] impressionistic sojourn through his astounding career provides glimpses of some of the century's most remarkable personalities — including his own." — Publishers Weekly "Galbraith never pretends to greater intimacy than he achieved with the public figures he describes in these brief essays, but each portrait tells us www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com 3 of 4 Copyright (c) 2003, Houghton Mifflin Company, All Rights Reserved something we wouldn't have otherwise known." — The New Yorker "Name-Dropping is a look at prominent people the former ambassador to India and famed economist has known, from FDR on." — Larry King, USA Today "Names? You want names? No one knows better ones than John Kenneth Galbraith." — San Diego Union-Tribune "If the title of John Kenneth Galbraith's latest and most charming memoir turns you off, wait a moment . This slim book serves to remind us that idealism and trust once existed in the White House and Washington, a fact that may seem unbelievable to the present generation." — Newsday "A lively and breezy set of essays with flashes of penetrating insight." — Boston Book Review "Writing with great decorum, and even greater intelligence, Galbraith focuses on personality and politics in his fond but balanced portraits of the powerful." — Boston Magazine Booksellers Home | Trade Home | FAQ | Site Map Privacy Policy | Trademark Information Copyright © 2003 Houghton Mifflin Company, All Rights Reserved www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com 4 of 4 Copyright (c) 2003, Houghton Mifflin Company, All Rights Reserved.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Galb2001.Pdf
    the essential Galbraith k John Kenneth Galbraith selected and edited by Andrea D. Williams A Mariner Original houghton mifflin company boston • new york 2001 books by john kenneth galbraith [a partial listing] American Capitalism: The Concept of Countervailing Power The Great Crash, 1929 The Affluent Society The Scotch The New Industrial State The Triumph Ambassador’s Journal Economics, Peace and Laughter Economics and the Public Purpose Money: Whence It Came, Where It Went The Age of Uncertainty Annals of an Abiding Liberal A Life in Our Times The Anatomy of Power A View from the Stands Economics in Perspective: A Critical History A Tenured Professor The Culture of Contentment A Journey Through Economic Time: A Firsthand View A Short History of Financial Euphoria The Good Society: The Humane Agenda Name-Dropping: From F.D.R. On The Essential Galbraith contents Preface vii Introduction ix Countervailing Power 1 from American Capitalism The Concept of the Conventional Wisdom 18 from The Affluent Society The Myth of Consumer Sovereignty 31 from The Affluent Society The Case for Social Balance 40 from The Affluent Society The Imperatives of Technology 55 from The New Industrial State The Technostructure 66 from The New Industrial State The General Theory of Motivation 79 from The New Industrial State Economics and the Quality of Life 90 from Economics, Peace and Laughter vi C0ntents The Proper Purpose of Economic Development 109 from Economics, Peace and Laughter The Valid Image of the Modern Economy 118 from Annals of an Abiding Liberal Power
    [Show full text]
  • John Kenneth Galbraith Alexander J
    Santa Clara University Scholar Commons Economics Leavey School of Business 2013 John Kenneth Galbraith Alexander J. Field Santa Clara University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/econ Part of the Economics Commons Recommended Citation Field, Alexander J. 2013. “John Kenneth Galbraith.” In Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Available online at http://www.anb.org/articles/15/15-01338.html?a=1&n=Galbraith&ia=-at&ib=-bib&d=10&ss=0&q=1 This material was originally published in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography edited by Susan Ware, and has been reproduced by permission of Oxford University Press. For permission to reuse this material, please visit http://www.oup.co.uk/academic/rights/permissions. This Book Chapter is brought to you for free and open access by the Leavey School of Business at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Economics by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. American National Biography Galbraith, John Kenneth (15 October 1908–29 April 2006) Alexander J. Field https://doi.org/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1501338 Published online: April 2013 John Kenneth Galbraith. c. 1940-6. Photograph by Royden Dixon. Courtesy of the Library of Congress (LC-USE6-D-000368). Galbraith, John Kenneth (15 October 1908–29 April 2006), and John Kenneth Galbraith (15 October 1908–29 April 2006), economist and author, was born in Iona Station, Ontario, Canada, to Archibald Galbraith and Sarah Catherine Kendall. Galbraith, who advanced and reinterpreted institutionalist and Keynesian traditions in economics while promoting a liberal and progressive political agenda, was arguably the best-known and most influential economist and public intellectual of his generation.
    [Show full text]
  • From Citizens to Consumers: the Countercultural Roots of Green Consumerism
    From Citizens to Consumers: The Countercultural Roots of Green Consumerism A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts Philip A. Wight August 2013 ©2013 Philip A. Wight. All Rights Reserved. 2 This thesis titled From Citizens to Consumers: The Countercultural Roots of Green Consumerism by PHILIP A. WIGHT has been approved for the Department of History and the College of Arts and Sciences by Kevin Mattson Connor Study Professor of Contemporary History Robert Frank Dean, College of Arts and Sciences 3 ABSTRACT WIGHT, PHILIP A., M.A. August 2013, History From Citizens to Consumers: The Countercultural Roots of Green Consumerism Director of thesis: Kevin Mattson When did American environmentalism shift from a focus on collective political action to an obsession with personal lifestyles? This thesis investigates three distinct bodies of environmental thought spanning the 1950s and the mid-1970s to answer this question. The three eco-political philosophies studied here are liberal, eco-socialist, and countercultural environmentalism. The heart of this thesis is the debate among key environmental thinkers—John Kenneth Galbraith, Stewart Brand, and Barry Commoner—concerning the role of individual consumers and the importance of public policy. This debate can be viewed as supply-side (producers) versus demand-side (consumers) environmentalism. This thesis argues America’s modern paradigm of libertarian, demand-side environmentalism and green consumerism stems from specific values, ideas, lifestyles, and worldviews representative of American counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s. In championing individual consumer choice, contemporary environmentalism has largely rejected liberal and eco-socialist prescriptions of collective political action and social democratic governance.
    [Show full text]
  • Obituary, J. K. Galbraith
    200607358 OBITUARY J. K. GALBRAITH Evan Jones John Kenneth Galbraith died on 29 April (born 15 October 1908), only a few years short of a century innings. And compus mentis almost right to the last. Galbraith was a phenomenon in his own right, an author of prodigious output, an almost unparalleled stylist on matters economic, and a major public figure. As an intellectual he was an extraordinary if flawed talent. He was a 'big picture' thinker, with telling grand generalisations, but also a little too glib at times. The glibness was manifest in Galbraith's rather crude periodisation of qualitative economic transformation. In his The New Industrial State, the essence of each historical period was to be found in the key locus of power which emanated from control of the scarce resource - in turn, control over land, capital and knowledge. In his 1993 The Anatomy of Power, power is exercised through the dominant medium - in turn, force, economic coercion/compensation, and psychological conditioning. There are good ideas here, but the two periodisations are not entirely consistent and the historical attribution is simplistic. At his best, Galbraith had a capacity to capture an evolving big picture and infuse it with incisive contemporary detail (the latter talent being rarely recognised). Such a combination was displayed in his histories (The Great Crash, 1954; Money, 1975). More recently, tbe combination was displayed in a masterly analysis of the Savings and Loan debacle in the New York Review ofBooks, 18 January 1990. The destruction of the savings and loans sector (roughly equivalent to building societies, albeit coupled with government guaranteed deposits) represents the defining moment in the venality and stupidity of the deregulatory thrust in the US.
    [Show full text]
  • Galbraith's Integral Economics
    Erasmus Journal for Philosophy and Economics, Volume 14, Issue 1, Spring 2021, pp. 258–263. https://doi.org/10.23941/ejpe.v14i1.587 PHD THESIS SUMMARY: Galbraith’s Integral Economics (1933–1983) ALEXANDRE CHIRAT PhD in Economics, November 2020 Université Lumière Lyon 2, Laboratoire Triangle My dissertation studies the genesis, construction, and reception of John Kenneth Galbraith’s integral economics. This term refers to his theoretical project—thought of as an alternative to conventional economics—which proposes integrated ‘pattern models’1 of the functioning of the economic system of post-war American industrial society.2 Galbraith’s notion of “conventional economics” combines highly diverse economic analyses. But they share three core postulates: (i) the hypothesis of consumer sov- ereignty, (ii) the hypothesis of citizen sovereignty, and (iii) the hypothesis of profit maximization (Galbraith 1973a, 5). These postulates lead to the exclusion of power outside economics; and it is against these that Gal- braith has built his own theories of corporation, competition, and con- sumption. My dissertation studies these issues in four separate parts. The first part of the dissertation accounts for Galbraith’s participation in original institutional economics from intellectual, theoretical, and epis- temological points of view.3 This allows me to situate his integral econom- ics within the secular “struggle” (Yonay 1998) between original institu- tional economics and neoclassical economics (Rutherford 2011) and to show that his theory of the corporation, which lies at the center of his 1 A ‘pattern model’ is a holistic, systemic, and evolutionary model. The term character- izes the institutionalist methodology: Thus, institutionalism is holistic because it focuses on the pattern of relations among parts and the whole.
    [Show full text]
  • Few Ideas Inspired by J. K. Galbraith
    The 12th International Days of Statistics and Economics, Prague, September 6-8, 2018 FEW IDEAS INSPIRED BY J. K. GALBRAITH Lada Rusmichová _______________________________________________________________ Abstract The beginning of the 21th century seems to be challenging period for economics. The so called "financial bubble" which caused the deepest fall of worldwide economy in many decades is seen a new latent threat for future. Surprisingly, main stream economics responds to it superficially, it obviously does not perceive connection between the two "challenges" and does not accepted the J.K. Galbraith claim that technological progress is the bases for economic and social change. From my point of view presented in this paper, the "challenges" are apparent. In fact, it is only the culmination of the process that begun in the late 1930s in the U.S.A. and approximately twenty years later in developed part of Europe and that J.K. Galbraith would call the affluently society. Since people have been living in the society where to create needs is the only means of achieving growth of wealth which is still an ultimate measure of progress. We live under the dictatorship of consumption and economic growth driven by multinational corporations. Right now, at the moment when we hit the boundaries of this stereotype, the Galbraith's visions, especially his concept of forced consumption and post- industrial society, can be very inspiring. Key words: J.K. Galbraith, conventional wisdom, power, technostructure, new class JEL Code: A10, B50, D11 ___________________________________________________________________________ Introduction John Kenneth Galbraith is a distinct figure in the field of economic theory not only due to his height (over 2 meters), but namely for his unique approach to the subject of economics.
    [Show full text]
  • A Brookings/New America Foundation Briefing the LEGACY of JOHN
    1 A Brookings/New America Foundation Briefing THE LEGACY OF JOHN KENNETH GALBRAITH Monday, April 4, 2005 2:30 p.m.—4:00 p.m. Falk Auditorium The Brookings Institution 1775 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. [TRANSCRIPT PREPARED FROM A TAPE RECORDING.] 2 P R O C E E D I N G S MR. DIONNE: I guess we'll begin in a couple of minutes if there are a couple of people in the back who need to find seats. Thank you, all, very much for coming. I just want to begin with a quotation from John Kenneth Galbraith that begins the last chapter of Richard Parker's wonderful book. Galbraith wrote: "In making economics a non-political subject, neoclassical theory destroys the relation of economics to the real world. In that world, power is decisive in what happens. And the problems of that world are increasing both in number and in the depth of their social affliction. In consequence, neoclassical and neo-Keynesian economics regulates its players to the social sidelines. They either call no plays or use the wrong ones. To change the metaphor, they manipulate levers to which no machinery is attached." A classic Galbraith line, and one of the reasons we are having this event today. I want to begin by saying thank you because at events such as this, when the discussion gets going really well, people often forget to say thank you, and there are a number of people I want to say thanks to. First, I'd like to begin by saying thanks to our friends at the New America Foundation, who are co-sponsoring this, and to my friend, Jim Fallows for joining us today for this discussion.
    [Show full text]
  • John Kenneth Galbraith the Dependence Effect
    CLASSIC READINGS IN ECONOMICS John Kenneth Galbraith (1908- ) In the 1960s, two economists with contrasting views were best known to the general public. One was Milton Friedman, known for his conservative or libertarian views; the other was John Kenneth Galbraith, known for his liberal views. Galbraith followed in the steps of earlier liberal economists who favored a larger government role in the economy, but his writing ability quickly led him away from technical economics into writing for the general public. This had two effects: it made him extremely well known, and it meant that his provocative ideas had little influence on the actual movement of the profession. The profession discussed his ideas, but somehow few of them became incorporated into economic thinking. He is a prolific author, and three of his most famous books are American Capitalism, The Affluent Society, and The New Industrial State. This selection, taken from The Affluent Society, discusses the “dependence effect,” an idea that parallels and further develops Veblen’s notion of “conspicuous consumption.” Specifically, Galbraith argues that the process of production creates wants and then satisfies them. Thus, it is an open question whether the production has made humankind better off, because if it had not created wants, humankind would not know what it was missing. Note that in the selection he mentions “Messrs. Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn.” “Messrs.” is an old-fashioned abbreviation used in front of a series of names to mean more than one Mr.— that is, a number of people all of whom individually could be called “Mr.” Galbraith’s point in mentioning these people is that Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn was, and still is, a prominent New York advertising agency.
    [Show full text]
  • Koen Byttebier Towards a New International Monetary Order Economic and Financial Law & Policy – Shifting Insights & Values
    Economic and Financial Law & Policy – Shifting Insights & Values 1 Koen Byttebier Towards a New International Monetary Order Economic and Financial Law & Policy – Shifting Insights & Values Volume 1 Series editors Koen Byttebier Brussels, Belgium Kim van der Borght Brussels, Belgium This book series focuses on presenting critical legal and interdisciplinary research regarding the tools and instruments of free-market-driven societies and their economies. For the last few decades, the world markets have been in turmoil, to a large extent a result of value and policy choices which have been made since the late middle ages. As a result, on a global scale, economies and the legal systems giving form to them, have mainly if not exclusively become based on selfishness and greed, a reality which is moreover explicitly propagated by the theories of eco- nomic neo-liberalism. It has nevertheless become clear in the recent past that said free market tools and mechanisms – such as private money creation by banks, next to the way huge corporations in general function and determine the outcome of economic processes – result in disastrous consequences, especially when remaining uncorrected by law and when not being submitted to clear public policy intervention measures. Despite the evidence and growing understanding of the causes and consequences of neoliberal policy, few alternatives for the capitalist model as currently implemented, have so far been proposed. In order to meet these concerns, this book series aims at offering an outlet for various forms of scientific research output, both monographs and edited collections. The objective of every book of the series will hereby be to look critically at the legal methods and mechanisms shaping the free markets, and even to suggest alternatives for these.
    [Show full text]
  • Economists (And Vietnamese Fashion) Galbraith American Capitalism Countervailing Power Critiques T
    Economists (and Vietnamese Fashion) ● Galbraith ○ American Capitalism ■ Countervailing power ■ critiques the idea that free markets will provide socially optimal solutions ○ The Great Crash, 1929 ○ The Affluent Society ■ critiqued the “central tradition” in economics ■ followed by his The New Industrial State ■ coined “conventional wisdom” ■ “the dependence effect” ■ originally titled “why the poor are poor” ■ advocates a “new class” of workers ■ advocates an increased in public spending in education ○ The New Industrial State ○ The American Left and Some British Comparisons ○ Economics and the Public Purpose ○ The Age of Uncertainty ○ The Nature of Mass Poverty ○ The Anatomy of Power ○ A Tenured Professor ○ The Culture of Contentment ○ The Economics of Innocent Fraud ● Krugman ○ New York Times­affiliated blog, Conscience of a Liberal ○ The Return of Depression Economics ○ New Trade Theory and New Economic Geography ● Keynes ○ The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money ○ The Economic Consequences of the Peace ■ Keynes expresses his dislike of the Treaty of Versailles ■ He thought that the Allies were being too harsh on Germany ○ Treatise on Money ○ Treatise on Probability ○ How to Pay for the War ○ Tract on Monetary Reform ■ In the long run we are all dead ○ [Not a fan of the gold standard] ○ [Has a namesake “cross­diagram”] ○ [Supporter of deficit spending] ○ [proposed a bancor global currency] ● Matlhus ○ An Essay on the Principle of Population ■ Compares arithmetic growth of food vs. geometric growth of population ○ Principles of Political Economy ○ An Inquiry into the Nature and Progress of Rent ○ The Crisis [Paine wrote a work of the same name] ○ [Supported the Corn Laws] ● Hayek ○ The Road to Serfdom ■ Chapter in it entitled “The Socialist Roots of Nazism” ○ Why I Am Not a Conservative ○ The Constitution of Liberty ○ Law, Legislation, and Liberty For next week: Veblen Friedman Ricardo Quesnay .
    [Show full text]
  • Reslegal V02 1..4
    *LRB09421777KXB60193r* SR0796 LRB094 21777 KXB 60193 r 1 SENATE RESOLUTION 2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to 3 learn of the death of John Kenneth Galbraith, who passed away 4 on April 29, 2006; and 5 WHEREAS, Dr. Galbraith spent more than 25 years on the 6 Harvard University faculty and advised Democratic presidents 7 and candidates from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Bill Clinton; and 8 WHEREAS, As an author, Dr. Galbraith wrote many books; one 9 of the most influential was "The Affluent Society" in 1958, 10 which argued that overproduction of consumer goods was harming 11 the public sector and depriving Americans of such benefits as 12 clean air, clean streets, good schools, and support for the 13 arts; and 14 WHEREAS, Dr. Galbraith was generally considered to have 15 been an apostle of the theories advanced by British economist 16 John Maynard Keynes: that government could promote full 17 employment and a stable economy by stimulating spending and 18 investment with adjustments in interest and tax rates, and 19 deficit financing; He lamented what he believed was an excess 20 accumulation of private wealth at the expense of public needs, 21 and he warned that an unfettered free market system and 22 capitalism without regulation would fail to meet basic social 23 demands; This was echoed in "The Affluent Society."; and 24 WHEREAS, In the early 1960s, while serving as President 25 John F. Kennedy's ambassador to India, Dr. Galbraith expressed 26 grave doubts about increasing U.S. involvement in the cankerous 27 conflict brewing in Southeast Asia that would erupt into the 28 Vietnam War; later that decade, he was chairman of the 29 leftleaning Americans for Democratic Action, and he backed the 30 unsuccessful antiwar presidential candidacy of Sen.
    [Show full text]
  • The Affluent Society John Kenneth Galbraith the Concept Of
    The Concept of the Conventional Wisdom [from The Affluent Society] This article originally appeared in The Affluent Society, by many con- sidered my most influential book, and certainly the one with the widest audience. It was published in 1958 in the United States and thereafter in a large number of other countries. For many months it was high on the American bestseller list. There were occasional mishaps in its reception. In the spring of 1958, just after publication, Catherine Galbraith and I set out on a long journey to Latin America; this took us down the west coast to Ecuador, Peru and Chile, across to Argentina and back up along the east. When we reached Montevideo, where I was giving a major lecture, word had come of the intense discussion of my work back home. Since the Mon- tevideo paper was to put my photograph on the front page, the editors had telephoned to get some details on my new distinction, but unfortu- The Affluent Society nately two words with a similar sound got confused: I was billed not as John Kenneth Galbraith a leading economist but as a leading American Communist. For better 1958 or for worse, my lecture was well attended. In the following weeks, months, even years, the book received much attention in the United States and variously around the world. This Excerpts early chapter was designed to set the groundwork for a challenge to the The Concept of the Conventional Wisdom accepted belief. Economics and social thought generally could pursue The Myth of Consumer Sovereignty the truth, but there was no question that the latter could be heavily in- The Case for Social Balance fluenced by what it was convenient or simply traditional to believe.
    [Show full text]