The Essential Galbraith

The chapters in "The Essential Galbraith" are material from various books authored by John Kenneth Galbraith. Some of these book titles are; THE AFFLUENT SOCIETY; THE GREAT CRASH,1929; THE NEW INDUSTRIAL STATE; and AMERICAN CAPITALISM. This book also addressed a variety of economic and societal issues in Galbraith's typical style; easily understood and witty. His writing about the crash of 1929 was some of the best in the book. He addressed the failures of neoclassical economics. Another topic that I liked was his analysis of the great economists and sociologists. Some of these prominent figures that I appreciated the most were Adam Smith, Thorstein Veblen, and John Maynard Keynes. Mr. Galbraith gave an insightful definition of the term "the establishment". They are those who guide or control the modern corporation and the financial, legislative, legal, technical, advertising, and other "sacerdotal services." Two Galbraith quotes that struck me as timeless are this quote from page 41- "It requires an organization to deal with an organization, and between public and private bureaucracies- between General Dynamics and the Pentagon, General Motors and the Department of Transportation- there is a deeply symbiotic relationship. Each of these organizations can do much for the other. There has been, between them, a large and continuous exchange of executive personnel." This reminds me of that very same relationship between current Bush cabinet members and Wall Street. The benefits are obvious when considering the bailout of last year. This last quote is in context to Keynes and his tarnished reputation after he criticized Winston Churchill's economic policy before Churchill became Prime Minister. "When the men of great reputation are wrong, it is the worst of personal tactics to be right.-page 230. I rated "The Culture of Contentment" slightly higher, but this book covers a lot more of Mr. Galbraith's writing and it is educational and entertaining.

It does not take this book very long to get to how organizations need a system of motivation which appeals to the individuals who will take part in the organization's activities. Economists primarily serve planners, with whatever can promote the organizers of the technostructure who are looking for ways to expand their activity, usually in ways that produce private profit. To produce examples of individual motivations, Galbraith mentions "Ditch-digging" (p. 81) and soon moves up, or down, depending on your point of view. "But once again the ditch-digger is not the most powerful example. The cabinet officer or high official who serves and on occasion concurs in action that he finds repugnant in order to advance measures of which he approves is a better case. He came to be part of something approaching a majority of American officialdom as those involved in the Vietnam war came to explain why they went along." (p. 82). A common form of ditch in Vietnam was a latrine, dug by soldiers because each of them was likely to need to use the latrine as much as the next G.I., and a place that had already been prepared next to a big pile of loose dirt, or a can under a simple crate with a large hole on top, was as luxurious an accommodation as any soldier could expect prior to being evacuated from Nam himself. Digging the ditch was a pleasure, compared to the chore of burning what was in the can, but Nam was a situation that lasted so long, the Army needed to provide for human waste in a way that avoided unsanitary results from new troops coming in and digging up an area that had been the previous unit's latrine.After a century of fantastic organizational growth, and fifty years of economics from Galbraith, it takes a tremendous amount of balancing contrary ideas to avoid the worst of what has gone before, in particular, the "cabinet officer or high official who serves and on occasion concurs in action that he finds repugnant." (p. 82). "The Case for Social Balance" on pages 40-54 noted how, in times of economic growth that was highly profitable, industry salaries could rise faster than governments could keep up, and with high inflation, the revenues of cities "lag behind when prices rise. The problem of financing services thus becomes increasingly acute as and when inflation continues." (p. 52). Trying to balance public needs with the views of typical investors, "Urgent warnings were issued of the unfavorable effects of taxation on investment" (p, 53), Galbraith ends his balancing by trying to foist the higher sense of disorder on F. A. von Hayek, who wrote "Where distinction and rank is achieved almost exclusively by becoming a civil servant of the state . . . it is too much to expect that many will long prefer freedom to security." [THE ROAD TO SERFDOM, p. 98] (THE ESSENTIAL GALBRAITH, pp. 53-54).Arguments tend to illustrate how primitive political positions are, and sending millions of individuals from America to Vietnam as members of the a

Perhaps Galraith's greatest appeal as an economist is the disdain he holds his own profession in. He is a merciless critic of thoughtlessness, ignorance, and the status-quo--and he's quite fun to read. Because this is an anthology of his life's work, themes are occassionally repeated. But you don't need to know much economics, and the writings are current.