John Kenneth Galbraith

John Kenneth Galbraith (1908-2006) was an American economist, diplomat, and public intellectual. He was a longtime professor of economics at Harvard University and author of dozens of books on American history and economics, among them the best-selling trilogy American Capitalism (1952), The Affluent Society (1958), and The New Industrial State (1967). He also wrote several novels and published more than a thousand articles and essays for various publications, including for American Heritage.

Galbraith was active in politics, serving in the administrations of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon B. Johnson. Under the Kennedy administration he served as U.S Ambassador to India. A proponent of post-Keynesian economics, Galbraith also served as deputy director of the Office of Price Administration (OPA) during World War II, where he helped to stabilize prices and wages in the economy during a time of shortages and rationing.

Galbraith received both the World War II Medal of Freedom (1946) and Presidential Medal of Freedom (2000) for public service and contributions to science.

Articles by this Author

Economist, May/June 1998 | Vol. 49, No. 3

FDR A Practical Magician, February/March 1983 | Vol. 34, No. 2

Fifty years ago this March, Roosevelt took the oath of office and inaugurated this century’s most profound national changes. One who was there recalls the President’s unique blend of ebullience and toughness.

After The Air Raids, April/May 1981 | Vol. 32, No. 3

An insider’s account of a startling— and still controversial—investigation of the Allied bombing of Germany

A New Theory of Thorstein Veblen, April 1973 | Vol. 24, No. 3

Veblen’s ideas on the effect of wealth on behavior were penetrating, original and, to the dismay of his contemporaries, highly uninhibited.

Plain Tales From The Embassy, October 1969 | Vol. 20, No. 6

The Days of Boom and Bust, August 1958 | Vol. 9, No. 5

As the twenties roared on, a market crash became inevitable. Why? And who should have stopped it?

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