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Product Description
Product Description
A book explaining the history of economics; including the powerful and vested interests which moulded the theories to their financial advantage; as a means of understanding modern economics.
About the Author
John Kenneth Galbraith wrote more than 30 books, spanning four decades. He was awarded honorary degrees from Harvard, Oxford, the University of Paris and Moscow University. He was the Paul M Warburg Professor of Economics Emeritus at Harvard University. He died in 2006.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
38 of 42 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
John Kenneth Galbraith is , as always , lucid and concise - and manages to make the 'dismal science' of economics enjoyable to learn - mainly by ridiculing the way in which economists and governments hold to bizarre and self-serving theories in the face of all the facts.
One good example is Say's Law - which states that if the market is left to find its own equilibrium supply will always equal demand at a point at or near full employment. The classical Liberals held to this theory in the face of the mass unemployment of the great depression - which was only ended by Keynesian demand management which acknowledged that Say's Law was a fantasy.
Yet , as Galbraith points out , much to the ire of neo-Liberal born again free-marketeers , modern economists and governments STILL believe in Say's 'Law', STILL theorize as if the market were a system of free and equal transactions between individuals of equal power - rather than each sector being dominated by a handful of vast corporations.
Another reviewer lambasts Galbraith for not mentioning the theory of comparative advantage - perhaps that was an omission - but if Galbraith were to respond I am sure he would say that the theory of comparative advantage , much like Say's Law , is a theory in the worst sense of the word - a blind faith in a world view which is in constant and complete conflict with reality. For that reason Galbraith spends more time on theories which do broadly , or at last partly , correspond to and explain actual events , such as Keynesianism. Nor is he slow to list their faults - his only fault in this book is not to take apart modern neo-liberalism quite as thoroughly as he destroys classical liberalism.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a good, readable short history of economics, written in Galbraith's delightful style.
There is much erudite interpretation of economists, possibly excessively influencing your understanding of them. For example, of Ricardo:
"From the demanding exercise in understanding that [Ricardo] imposes, the reader can emerge with some freedom as to what he chooses to believe."
Malthus turns out to be a real economist, rather than a shreeking prophet, and his position alongside Ricardo is described. Negative opinion of Ricardo abounds, rather scornful of his explanations of profit. Galbraith is sly and amusing (as ever) about putting down Ricardo on account of his style:
"As others have noted, Ricardo managed in his later writing to soften positions that were originally very hard, and this has greatly helped many who have sought to find in him what they wished to believe."
However there is no mention of the theory of comparative advantage, which is odd.
There is more detail in the Penguin History of Economics, yet I prefer Galbraith, especially his discussion of the problems with Keynesianism and also the cant against monopoly; Galbraith is very clear about what modern corporations amount to, with their size, advertising and market and political power. In fact the later chapters in general are very gripping - about the post-war period, encompassing welfare, Keynesianism and its problems, the monopolistic corporation and the West's senile industries. That the book dates from the mid 1980s is actually a special perspective that I found particularly interesting.
The last chapter looking into the future from the mid 1980s is about Japan and suggests all sorts of Japanese institutions and approaches will be taken up - the opposite happened probably.
There is much erudite interpretation of economists, possibly excessively influencing your understanding of them. For example, of Ricardo:
"From the demanding exercise in understanding that [Ricardo] imposes, the reader can emerge with some freedom as to what he chooses to believe."
Malthus turns out to be a real economist, rather than a shreeking prophet, and his position alongside Ricardo is described. Negative opinion of Ricardo abounds, rather scornful of his explanations of profit. Galbraith is sly and amusing (as ever) about putting down Ricardo on account of his style:
"As others have noted, Ricardo managed in his later writing to soften positions that were originally very hard, and this has greatly helped many who have sought to find in him what they wished to believe."
However there is no mention of the theory of comparative advantage, which is odd.
There is more detail in the Penguin History of Economics, yet I prefer Galbraith, especially his discussion of the problems with Keynesianism and also the cant against monopoly; Galbraith is very clear about what modern corporations amount to, with their size, advertising and market and political power. In fact the later chapters in general are very gripping - about the post-war period, encompassing welfare, Keynesianism and its problems, the monopolistic corporation and the West's senile industries. That the book dates from the mid 1980s is actually a special perspective that I found particularly interesting.
The last chapter looking into the future from the mid 1980s is about Japan and suggests all sorts of Japanese institutions and approaches will be taken up - the opposite happened probably.
22 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Galbriath manages to make economics interesting, entertaining, at times even exciting, as well as adding in a healthy dose of common sense often missing. He is clearly setting himself up against the 'aggressively dull' that make up much of the writing and theorising on economics. Whilst he does not cover every element in economics, or at times even every important aspect of economics, he manages to cover economics from Aristotle to the twentieth century in 300 pages, and to provide a mix of detail and overview that is informative and provocative. It sets economics up as a fundamentally political activity, and no doubt that is a difficult concept for many. Equally he emphasises the fundamentally contextual nature of economics and challenges the aspirations of the discipline to being a pure science. Well worth reading, even if you disagree!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Dismal Science
J.K.Galbraith's whirlwind tour of the history of economics is an excellent introduction to the subject. Read more
Published on 16 Feb 2010 by S Wood
Fabulous
This is the history book to read for leisure and independent knowledge but not for a school exam. The quality of writing is superb and Galbraith's passion for his subject is so... Read more
Published on 13 Jan 2009 by demola
eye opening
I really enjoyed reading this book, I was glad it was chosen as part of my reading list. I found it incredibly interesting and easy to read. Read more
Published on 5 Oct 2008 by A. Fotheringham
Listmania!
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