Death of an Economist

Not more than a week after I had finished reading a massive biography of the man (available here--very enjoyable if very "techie" and seemingly told in real time), popular economist John Kenneth Galbraith has died:

Harvard professor John Kenneth Galbraith, the renowned economist whose influence stretched from presidents, as adviser and diplomat, to Main Street, as a prolific best-selling author and TV host, has died at age 97.
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The Canadian-born Galbraith became one of America's best-known liberals, and was outspoken in his support of government action to solve social problems. He served as adviser to Democratic presidents from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Bill Clinton, and was John F. Kennedy's ambassador to India.

His 1958 book, "The Affluent Society," caused the country to reconsider its values and helped propel him into the international spotlight.

It argued that the American economy was producing individual wealth but hadn't adequately addressed public needs such as schools and highways. U.S. economists and politicians were still using the assumptions of the world of the past, where scarcity and poverty were near-universal, he said.

"As a result, we are guided, in part, by ideas that are relevant to another world," he wrote. "We do many things that are unnecessary, some that are unwise, and a few that are insane."

In 1999, a panel of judges organized by the Modern Library, a book publisher, picked "The Affluent Society" as No. 46 on its list of the century's 100 best English-language works of nonfiction.

Galbraith also was known for his theories on countervailing forces in the economy, where groups such as labor unions were needed to strike a political and social balance.

Richard Neustadt, a Harvard colleague and fellow aide to presidents Kennedy and Truman, said Galbraith demonstrated how "you have to empower people directly before they could fight for themselves."