The Socially Concerned Today (Senator Keith Davey Lecture Series)

By John Kenneth Galbraith

In this Brief, Accessible Book, The Distinguished Teacher and former President of the American Economic Association, John Kenneth Galbraith, records his views on such critical subjects as what the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802081614
• ISBN13: 9780802081612
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Univ of Toronto Pr
• Length: 54 Pages
• Weight: 0.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.8" x 0.3" x 5.3"

Customer Reviews

Happiness attainable through clarividence and social concern

I purchased that little book about fifty pages, curious I was of recent thoughts by Professor Galbraith. I had read, in Portuguese, his last book "The Good Society" and, to me, all those thoughts on the basic roles of the STATE (Government) did make a lot of sense. He is so clear when he stresses as threshold functions of government in a time when most people are defending the excessive reduction of the size of the state. The basic state roles of: guaranteeing the resilience of the environment, for present and future generations, the ordering of the employment system, the keeping of the social order and being preventive about possible processes of self destruction, are brought about in his coherent work. This book "The Socially Concerned Today" is a very useful set of advises to all of us who live in this turbulent time. It makes us feel that each one of us should act, that our small action is necessary and may combine to promote the basic improving changes. There are speeches about the author made by Professor Prichard, of the University of Toronto, Canadian Senator Davey and Queen's University Professor Meisel. It amazes me that with age certain scholars like Galbraith and Juran, to name two, become younger and daring in their ways of expressing their thoughts. Internationalism, as compared to unrestrained nationalism, is brought to us as something to be pre-conditioned, not to harm the welfare systems of some participating states. The present crisis in our world, typical of what he calls mindless internationalism, show decision-makers should have read Galbraith's book. His sentence - " concern for human well-being does not stop at national frontiers" - if respected, would have spared us all of losing lives, environmental and economical assets. His warn that the malignant fear towards inflation should not "arrest all economic progress" - is fundamental. The cultivation of WANTS-SUPPLIES cyclic chain of present capitalism is brought to our attention. We are living such a dangerous vicious cycle, and the consequences, are difficult to appraise. If we barely assess them with respect to impacts in the environment and social systems, we will find that efficiency, effectiveness and equity are not present in the life cycle of policies, and hence such a value chain is a fake. My respects to such a good work of a serious world thinker - Dr. J. K. Galbraith.