The Legacy of John Kenneth Galbraith

A Ralph Nader essay from CounterPunch:

I first came across the name of John Kenneth Galbraith during my student years at Princeton where I picked up his book American Capitalism. Wondering why it was not on any reading list for my economics course, I put the question to the professor. He replied: "It's really not about economics. It's about political economy."

Before the discipline of economics broke off from what students used to major in--"political economy"-early in the 20th century, my professor's comment would not have been a put down. Today, most economists see economics as a branch of mathematics and tend to dismiss economists who bring into their study the variables of politics and power.

And

What would a Galbraithian economy look like in the United States? For starters, major public investments--fueled by corporate tax reforms--in public works--public transit, repaired schools, clinics, upgraded drinking water systems, good parks and libraries, and environmental health projects. These forms of public wealth for everyone, he believed, would also advance the objective of a full employment economy.

Galbraith believed that uncontrolled capitalism, especially the giant corporations, required prudent regulation to diminish the damage their out-of-control greed and power inflict on society. Always a realist, he was more than aware of the capture of regulatory agencies by the very companies that they were created to regulate.

Click here for the rest.

I thought that since Galbraith's name has come up several times during the great Caffeinated versus Real Art Debate on Economics (see post below), it would be nice to hear what progressive hero Ralph Nader has to say about him. Obviously, Nader has lots of good things to say. Like Edward Hermann, co-writer with Noam Chomsky of the great news media analysis book Manufacturing Consent, Galbraith was a political economist, which means he was able to see beyond the endless stream of numbers that constitutes the world of the conventional contemporary economist. That is, he saw a bigger picture, and was able to concern himself with the meaning of economics, instead of simply with the "description and analysis of the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services," the raison d'etre of the entire field.

Okay, I'm convinced. This Wikipedia article only scratches the surface of JKG's ideas: can anybody recommend a nice Galbraith starting book?

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