The age of uncertainty

John Kenneth Galbraith

Houghton Mifflin, 1977 - Business & Economics - 365 pages

The distinguished diplomat and economist surveys the ideas and influence of economists and social philosophers, from Adam Smith's day to the present, contrasting the certainties in nineteenth-century economic thought with the uncertainty of today's

Contents

• The Prophets and Promise of Classical Capitalism: 11
• The Manners and Morals of High Capitalism: 43
• The Dissent of Karl Marx: 77

About the author

John Kenneth Galbraith is a Canadian-born American economist who is perhaps the most widely read economist in the world. He taught at Harvard from 1934-1939 and then again from 1949-1975. An adviser to President John F. Kennedy, he served from 1961 to 1963 as U.S. ambassador to India. His style and wit in writing and his frequent media appearances have contributed greatly to his fame as an economist. Galbraith believes that it is not sufficient for government to manage the level of effective demand; government must manage the market itself. Galbraith stated in American Capitalism (1952) that the market is far from competitive, and governments and labor unions must serve as "countervailing power." He believes that ultimately "producer sovereignty" takes the place of consumer sovereignty and the producer - not the consumer - becomes ruler of the marketplace.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The age of uncertainty; Based on a EBC Television series sheduled for release in 1977
• Author: John Kenneth Galbraith
• Edition: 2, illustrated
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin, 1977
• ISBN: 0395249007, 9780395249000
• Length: 365 pages
• Subjects: Business & Economics / Economic History; Business & Economics / Economics / General; Business & Economics / General; Economic history; Economics; Economics - History; Economics History; Economics/ History; Uncertainty