His criticism of the political-economic goal of constant growth brought Galbraith worldwide recognition in 1958. Contrary to the dominant economic theory, Galbraith was of the opinion that the constant increase in production did not take into account the satisfaction of the consumer and did not give due importance to the basic needs of man.
American Galbraith is among the most influential economists of the post-World War II period.
His books, in which he criticized uncontrolled economic growth and the formation of monopolies with their harmful consequences for the environment, entered the bestseller list.
He was born in Ontario, the son of a Scottish immigrant farming family who had established a new life for themselves in Canada.
Even as a child, Galbraith helped his elders in the fields. In 1926, with the financial support of his family, he began to study at the agricultural college in Guelph, California.
John Kenneth Galbraith (October 15, 1908 – April 29, 2006), also known as Ken Galbraith, was a Canadian-American economist, diplomat, public official, and intellectual. His books on economic topics were bestsellers from the 1950s through the 2000s. As an economist, he leaned toward post-Keynesian economics from an institutionalist perspective.
He completed his academic education by studying economic sciences at the University of Toronto (Canada) and graduated from there with honors in 1931.
He then received a research scholarship from the University of California at Berkeley and received his doctorate degree from there in 1934 with his thesis titled "Possibilities for Improving the Situation of Beekeepers".
His previously intended academic career took Galbraith to Princeton/New Jersey via Cambridge/Massachusetts. Besides teaching, he was also involved in politics. Galbraith, who was among those who wrote the president's speeches, was appointed by President Franklin D Roosevelt as director of the Price Section of the Office of Price Policy and Public Requirements (OPA) in 1941.
This department was envisaged to reduce the inflation that emerged as a result of the Second World War, by limiting prices and competition.
Galbraith, who had previously worked with only 20 people, became chief of 64,000 officers two years later. With his unpopular measures for the industry (for example, he wanted to tie prices to the quality of goods), this 2.04-meter-tall economist became the "most hated man" in the US economy.
Under pressure from industry, Roosevelt removed Galbraith from this position in 1943. After working for a while as an editor at "Fortune", a conservative economics magazine, liberal left economist Galbraith was appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1946 to head a commission dealing with the economic consequences of war destruction in Japan and Germany.
In 1949, Galbraith decided to pursue an academic career and was appointed professor of economic sciences at Harvard University. His criticism of the political-economic goal of constant growth brought Galbraith worldwide recognition in 1958. Contrary to the dominant economic theory, Galbraith was of the opinion that the constant increase in production did not take into account the satisfaction of the consumer and did not give due importance to the basic needs of man. The main question in his bestseller The Afjluent Sociery was as follows: "Does it make sense to increase production after harming people and nature?"
According to Galbraith, modern industrial society meets the primary needs of the people. Advertising for products is, for Galbraith, proof that the consumer must be persuaded to purchase new products that are essentially unnecessary.
On the other hand, in order not to face the threat of unemployment and impoverishment, production must increase. Galbraith therefore advocated state regulation of wages and prices and low loan interest rates to stimulate production and thereby create new jobs.
He did not accept the reduction of social expenditures. He demanded that unemployment benefits be brought to an average wage level in periods of economic downturn and that the money be reduced significantly in periods of economic development.
Galbraith, who advised Democratic presidential candidate John F Kennedy in 1960, was appointed ambassador to India when Kennedy won the elections. Returning to Harvard in 1963, Galbraith completed his work The New Industrial State over the next five years. In this book, he examined the increasing number of companies and the dependence of large organizations on the state. In such companies, teams of experts (Technostructure) make the most important decisions. Their aim when making these decisions is to avoid making mistakes and consolidate their own power, rather than maximizing profits. This means the end of free competition and the convergence of Western and socialist economic systems.
Galbraith requested retirement in 1975. After this, he became a much sought-after economist, especially with his lecture tours where he harshly questioned the economic policies of Margaret Thatcher (UK) and Ronald Reagan (USA), who cut social spending.
He was the target of severe criticism for his demands that the state manage production to protect people and nature.