On Professor Galbraith’s View of America

“WHILE few of the ideas expressed in Galbraith’s nontechnical writings are totally original, his careful didactic style (rendered palatable by fine wit) has made an impression on liberal audiences and won the grudging respect of academic economists.” That appraisal, by economist Peter Passell of Columbia University, sums up the ambivalent reputation of this past president of the American Economics Association and former professor of economics at Harvard. In the view of most of his colleagues, John Kenneth Galbraith’s strong point is his successful popularization of their ideas.

The ingredients of Galbraith’s “careful didactic style” can be found in almost any of his books, for he perfected it early. It is convenient to illustrate mainly from the most recent, Money: Whence It Came, Where It Went:

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William Petersen

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“WHILE few of the ideas expressed in Galbraith’s nontechnical writings are totally original, his careful didactic style (rendered palatable by fine wit) has made an impression on liberal audiences and won the grudging respect of academic economists.” That appraisal, by economist Peter Passell of Columbia University, sums up the ambivalent reputation of this past president of the American Economics Association and former professor of economics at Harvard. In the view of most of his colleagues, John Kenneth Galbraith’s strong point is his successful popularization of their ideas.

The ingredients of Galbraith’s “careful didactic style” can be found in almost any of his books, for he perfected it early. It is convenient to illustrate mainly from the most recent, Money: Whence It Came, Where It Went: