The Selected Letters of John Kenneth Galbraith

These letters reveal the charm and brilliance of one of the great American intellectual liberals of the twentieth century.

Richard P. F. Holt (Edited by)

9781107019881, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 17 April 2017

742 pages
23.5 x 16 x 4.5 cm, 1.13 kg

'This book is sprinkled with excellent answers to many of the economic and political problems that are often still faced today. On reading this book, I wondered where is the John Kenneth Galbraith equivalent today who will provide presidents and legislators, as well as our economic colleagues, with the advice necessary to make the American economy deliver the prosperity to all its residents that it is capable of providing.' Review of Keynesian Economics

The Selected Letters of John Kenneth Galbraith invites readers to join in conversations with presidents and first ladies, diplomats and schoolchildren, the McCarthy 'loyalty board', foreign heads of state and fellow economists, and a host of other correspondents. In his long and cosmopolitan life, Galbraith wrote thousands of letters, and Richard P. F. Holt has selected the most important of these from his archival research, now available in print for the first time. The letters provide an intimate account of the three main political goals to which Galbraith devoted his professional life: ending war, fighting poverty, and improving quality of life by achieving a balance between private and public goods in an affluent capitalist society. Showing his thoughtful insights and charming wit, this collection confirms Galbraith as a man of broad learning, superb literary skills, and deeply held progressive ideals.

Introduction
1. 1930s: Berkeley and Harvard
2. 1940s: war and price czar
3. 1950s: liberal democrats and The Affluent Society
4. 1960s: triumph and tragedy
5. 1970s: the shooting star of American liberalism
6. 1980s: the rise of American conservatism
7. 1990s: political and economic moderation
8. 2000s: a goodbye: economics, peace and laughter
About the editor.

Subject Areas: Political economy [KCP], Macroeconomics [KCB], Economics [KC], History of ideas [JFCX], 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW]