From Here to There

Do-It by Government Culture

My two friendly enemies, Professors Arthur Schlesinger Jr. and J. Kenneth Galbraith of Harvard, who persist in thinking that I am “incurably and agelessly romantic” (I quote from a Galbraith letter), have come out, as Democrats, for a “qualitative liberalism” to replace the old quantitative liberalism of the Rooseveltian epoch. They note that America, by and large, is eating well, and there seem to be plenty of jobs—so many, in fact, that the steelworkers can spurn an average of three bucks and more an hour for weeks on end. But the quality of life doesn’t seem to be taken care of by individual budgets. Therefore, let us tax and spend not to spread comforts, but to add to the esthetic and cultural advantages that should be available to everybody.

JC

About the Author

John Chamberlain

John Chamberlain (1903–1995) was an American writer.

Featured Tags

Do-It by Government Culture

My two friendly enemies, Professors Arthur Schlesinger Jr. and J. Kenneth Galbraith of Harvard, who persist in thinking that I am “incurably and agelessly romantic” (I quote from a Galbraith letter), have come out, as Democrats, for a “qualitative liberalism” to replace the old quantitative liberalism of the Rooseveltian epoch. They note that America, by and large, is eating well, and there seem to be plenty of jobs—so many, in fact, that the steelworkers can spurn an average of three bucks and more an hour for weeks on end. But the quality of life doesn’t seem to be taken care of by individual budgets. Therefore, let us tax and spend not to spread comforts, but to add to the esthetic and cultural advantages that should be available to everybody.