John Kenneth Galbraith
Another great thinker with connections to both America and Canada passes: as Screwy informs me, J. K. Galbraith just passed away. Gosh - that was a man you thought could go on forever. I remember seeing (I think) that imposing 6' 8" figure in Harvard Yard - still looking remarkable for a man over 80.
The New York Times' obit is extremely comprehensive, and I can't say much more, except that I thought Amartya Sen's words on The Affluent Society were apposite: "It's like reading 'Hamlet' and deciding it's full of quotations. You realise where they came from." I still have my copy of the book, an edition that dates back to the 60s or so - picked it up from an obscure bookstore about ten years or so ago. I'd forgotten that line quoted in the obit: "Is the added production or the added efficiency in production worth its effect on ambient air, water and space - the countryside?" - in the context of the relentless drive to production and efficiency of the 1950s, that must have been something to read.
An earlier Observer bio of Galbraith
The New York Times' obit is extremely comprehensive, and I can't say much more, except that I thought Amartya Sen's words on The Affluent Society were apposite: "It's like reading 'Hamlet' and deciding it's full of quotations. You realise where they came from." I still have my copy of the book, an edition that dates back to the 60s or so - picked it up from an obscure bookstore about ten years or so ago. I'd forgotten that line quoted in the obit: "Is the added production or the added efficiency in production worth its effect on ambient air, water and space - the countryside?" - in the context of the relentless drive to production and efficiency of the 1950s, that must have been something to read.
An earlier Observer bio of Galbraith
Comments