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John Kenneth Galbraith (1908 - 2006)

John Kenneth Galbraith was an influential Canadian-American economist. He was a Keynesian and an institutionalist, a leading proponent of 20th-century American liberalism and progressivism. His books on economic topics were bestsellers in the 1950s and 1960s.
Galbraith was a prolific author who produced four dozen books and over a thousand articles on various subjects. Among his most famous works was a popular trilogy on economics, "American Capitalism" (1952), "The Affluent Society" (1958), and "The New Industrial State" (1967).
He taught at Harvard University for many years. Galbraith was active in politics, serving in the administrations of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson; and among other roles served as U.S. ambassador to India under Kennedy.
He was one of a few two-time recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He received one from President Truman in 1946 and another from President Bill Clinton in 2000.
He was also awarded the Order of Canada in 1997 and, in 2001, the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award, for his contributions to strengthening ties between India and the United States.


few things are as immutable as the addiction of political groups to the ideas by which they have won office - John Kenneth Galbraith
in economics, the majority is always wrong - John Kenneth Galbraith
politics is not the art of the possible. It consists in choosing between the disastrous and the unpalatable - John Kenneth Galbraith
the only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable - John Kenneth Galbraith
the salary of the chief executive of a large corporation is not a market award for achievement. It is frequently in the nature of a warm personal gesture by the individual to himself - John Kenneth Galbraith