About
John Kenneth Galbraith, born in Ontario and naturalized American, was a professor of economics at Harvard for nearly 60 years. An adviser to Franklin D. Roosevelt, he directed price controls during World War II, then served as U.S. Ambassador to India under Kennedy. Author of bestsellers such as *The Affluent Society* and *The New Industrial State*, he popularized concepts like 'conventional wisdom' and 'countervailing power.' He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom twice and served as president of the American Economic Association.
* 1908-10-15 — † 2006-04-28
Major works
- American Capitalism (1952)nonfiction
- The Great Crash, 1929 (1955)nonfiction
- The Affluent Society (1958)nonfiction
- The New Industrial State (1967)nonfiction
- Economics and the Public Purpose (1973)nonfiction
Key milestones
- 1946Receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Truman.
- 1961Appointed U.S. Ambassador to India by President Kennedy.
- 2000Receives a second Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Clinton.
Themes
Critique of consumer societyPower of large corporationsGovernment intervention in the econEconomic inequalityConventional wisdom
Sources: news.harvard.edu · news.harvard.edu · catdir.loc.gov