Books by John Kenneth Galbraith
John Kenneth Galbraith wrote 33 popular economics books and economics text books. He served as an economist adviser in the Kennedy administration.
“For an academic, Galbraith writes unusually well.” John Gapper.
“Galbraith didn’t invent the role of public intellectual/social critic but he certainly occupied it incredibly effectively. He’s making the point – about the US in the 1950s, but it’s even more true today – that at the same time as we have this incredible array of consumer goods, the goods which we rely on the public to provide are decaying. Private affluence and public squalor is the great catchphrase of that book.” Read more...
John Quiggin, Economist
“Galbraith was looking at what had happened to the large corporation. By the 1960s, he saw it had succeeded, that Croly’s promise of American life had been achieved in many respects. The New Industrial State was more of an explanation than a call to arms. It was an explanation for how it was that the giant corporation managed to create an adequate market for its extraordinary productivity and why, as Galbraith called it, the “technostructure”, the people who were involved in planning the next innovations in goods and services, was really the centre of power in the large mid-20th century corporations. If anything, Galbraith’s book was a warning about that technostructure.” Read more...
The best books on Saving Capitalism and Democracy
Robert Reich, Economist
“The book shows his talent as a popular economist. It’s not chiefly a work of economics, though it does analyse the causes of the Great Depression. It’s more a work of history, almost of journalism. For an academic, Galbraith writes unusually well.” Read more...
The best books on Financial Speculation
John Gapper, Journalist
Interviews where books by John Kenneth Galbraith were recommended
The best books on Financial Speculation, recommended by John Gapper
We all have a bit of the rogue trader in us. So says the chief business commentator of the FT, who tells us about the greed, vanity and weakness that can lead to financial disaster. He picks the best books on financial speculation.
The best books on Saving Capitalism and Democracy, recommended by Robert Reich
It’s not the first period in history that American society has suffered from a crisis of inequality. Former labour secretary, Robert Reich, recommends books to help us understand the response of previous generations to the same kinds of challenges we now face.
The best books on Utopia, recommended by John Quiggin
Australian economist John Quiggin, author of Zombie Economics, says we need to inspire people with a view of a better society. In short, we need a new utopia.
