The Good Society: The Human Agenda

I would say Better Society. Good is more difficult to define as the author says we must choose “between what might be perfect and what is achievable.” For some, it would seem, good means purging of undesirables and promoting those who succeed in a Social Darwinist struggle. Galbraith describes a door open to all. There are impediments in the American political economy that come from blind adherence to particular ideologies and world views. I recently read Chris Hayes book Twilight of the Elites: America After Meritocracy that describes the unintended consequences of a myopic focus on meritocratic promotion. It isn’t as meritocratic as we would like. The individualistic libertarian would not consider Galbraith’s society to be good. The question I hear when I suggest that all education and health care be paid by government taxation is “Do you want equal outcomes?” That is not what Galbraith is advocating. Equal opportunity for all is what is needed for a good society. People should be dependent on government for that purpose. Libertarians still want to be dependent on government for police, defense and contract law. It seems that we are not arguing over whether we should have a government, but how much we should have. If we want to keep our democratic capitalist political economy we are going to have to adapt and more government seems needed as complexity in modern life increases. There has been a steady stream of propaganda from the right since Ronald Reagan that government is inherently incompetent. This is demonstrably not true. There is no shortage of incompetence and masterful competence in both private and public management. There is also laudable honesty and reprehensible dishonesty in both. When those in power have bought into the government as incompetent then it is not surprising that they will manage incompetently so they can say “I told you so.” Elect people to office who want to govern and succeed. Stop electing those who want government to fail. Galbraith does not include a plan to achieve his good society. For that you should read “Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Power” by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson [Crown Publishers, New York 2012; eISBN: 978-0-307-71923-2].

It is refreshing to read a book by an author who provides answers and not just criticisms. Professor Galbraith truly conforms to Robert Heilbroner's colorful description of the economists throughout history as The Worldly Philosophers. Without doubt this is the work of one of our modern day Worldly Philosophers. This book was written in 1996 when Mr. Galbraith was a very old man. The title of the book suggests a utopian message. Its subtitle is The Humane Society. But being a Worldly Philosopher and a professional economist, Professor Galbraith's "Good Society" is no dreamy eyed fantasy. It is an outline of not only what should be done but what is practical and achievable in a society - particularly our society here in the USA. Of course this is all predicated on the notion that we live in a society that has a moral conscience. If you believe that you live in a world that is beyond morality or conscience or that the way things are is the way that things should be, then I would predict that this book will not interest you all that much. Richard Edward Noble - The Hobo Philosopher - Author of: "A Summer with Charlie"

John Kenneth Galbraith sees the eternal struggles of economics as a battle between capital and labor and as things currently stand capital is delivering haymakers and body blows to labor. Labor has the numbers but capital has the advantage of... well, capital. Capital can afford the best representation and that has never been more true than today. Meanwhile Globalization has effectively destroyed labors bargaining power. In `The Good Society' Mr. Galbraith attempts to map out an economic plan for creating a good society for all, wealthy and poor. What sets Mr. Galbraith apart from many economists is his belief in a pragmatic rather than dogmatic approach. He even compares the Republican parties 1994 `Contract with America' to the `Communist Manifesto' for its ideological inflexibility. The problems seem to occur when people start believing that economics falls under the hard sciences when in truth it's more like tracking the weather where small perturbation can cause dramatic changes. One thing that the author has maintained through the years is that Feds actual effect on inflation and recessions is negligible and more smoke and mirrors meant to give the appearance that something is being done. The other issue is that Globalization has made it increasingly difficult for the Federal Reserve to adjust the levels of our economy. Occasionally the author comes off as a bit naive as when he talks about large scale modernization projects done in the third world saying, "The steel mills, hydroelectric plants and shiny airports, now sited among ignorant people, became sterile monuments to error - and failure." What Mr. Galbraith fails to recognize is that these projects are only failures from the perspective of the recipient countries who borrowed away their futures in order to acquire them. To the IMF and the construction companies involved it was a complete success. The author does recognize that the gift wealthy countries should have offered was the much less glamorous gift of education. In another section Mr. Galbraith says in reference to Imperialism and Colonialism, "We speak sometimes reflectively, of the end of history; here, indeed, history has come to an end." Writers who use the unfortunate term `end of history' have a bad tendency of being proven wrong in the end. John Kenneth Galbraith is one of the few economists of late who addresses the immense danger of wealth inequality. In contrast to Milton Freidman, Mr. Galbraith believes that there are both financial and ethical sides to economics as relates to helping the poor, protecting the environment and supporting workers rights. He also supports transnational organizations and sees Globalization as the inevitable future. In most ways Mr. Galbraith is swimming upstream against the trends in the United States which is exactly why I find his views more important than ever before. The book seemed to lose some steam about half way through and many of his ideas such as the danger of the military industrial complex have been addressed in his other book, still I recommend Mr. Galbraith as a responsible voice for progressive economics.

A collection of banalities! I've thrown my copy of the book away!

Excellent

Nice book.

A classic and important book in terms of helping people understand what the good society looks like. Continued escalation of income and wealth inequality will threaten social order and democracy.

A very fine copy of a very fine book from Thriftbooks at reasonable delivery charges

Every person, especially young people, would be well served to read this fora great articulation of incredible values for a democracy.

Sometime in the 1970s, several trends started to take effect in the USA that have led to many of our troubles now. One of these was the growing divide of the America into haves and have-nots. Another one of these was the privatization of numerous parts of the US economy, and the transfer of many government functions from the public role to the private market. A third effect was the de-emphasis of public infrastructure for the public good, to public infrastructure for corporate wealth. John Kenneth Galbraith addresses all three of this trends, and shows what they have done to the American society and American communities. The result is a good wishlist of probably most political liberals. The one thing lacking from the book is a comparison of what America has become, to the economic and social transformations that have occurred in societies that have incorporated many of Galbraith's ideas, such as Scandinavia, Singapore, and Japan. Overall, an OK book and a good summary of the author's works and views.

I would say Better Society. Good is more difficult to define as the author says we must choose “between what might be perfect and what is achievable.” For some, it would seem, good means purging of undesirables and promoting those who succeed in a Social Darwinist struggle. Galbraith describes a door open to all. There are impediments in the American political economy that come from blind adherence to particular ideologies and world views. I recently read Chris Hayes book Twilight of the Elites: America After Meritocracy that describes the unintended consequences of a myopic focus on meritocratic promotion. It isn’t as meritocratic as we would like. The individualistic libertarian would not consider Galbraith’s society to be good. The question I hear when I suggest that all education and health care be paid by government taxation is “Do you want equal outcomes?” That is not what Galbraith is advocating. Equal opportunity for all is what is needed for a good society. People should be dependent on government for that purpose. Libertarians still want to be dependent on government for police, defense and contract law. It seems that we are not arguing over whether we should have a government, but how much we should have. If we want to keep our democratic capitalist political economy we are going to have to adapt and more government seems needed as complexity in modern life increases. There has been a steady stream of propaganda from the right since Ronald Reagan that government is inherently incompetent. This is demonstrably not true. There is no shortage of incompetence and masterful competence in both private and public management. There is also laudable honesty and reprehensible dishonesty in both. When those in power have bought into the government as incompetent then it is not surprising that they will manage incompetently so they can say “I told you so.” Elect people to office who want to govern and succeed. Stop electing those who want government to fail. Galbraith does not include a plan to achieve his good society. For that you should read “Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Power” by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson [Crown Publishers, New York 2012; eISBN: 978-0-307-71923-2].

It is refreshing to read a book by an author who provides answers and not just criticisms. Professor Galbraith truly conforms to Robert Heilbroner's colorful description of the economists throughout history as The Worldly Philosophers. Without doubt this is the work of one of our modern day Worldly Philosophers. This book was written in 1996 when Mr. Galbraith was a very old man. The title of the book suggests a utopian message. Its subtitle is The Humane Society. But being a Worldly Philosopher and a professional economist, Professor Galbraith's "Good Society" is no dreamy eyed fantasy. It is an outline of not only what should be done but what is practical and achievable in a society - particularly our society here in the USA. Of course this is all predicated on the notion that we live in a society that has a moral conscience. If you believe that you live in a world that is beyond morality or conscience or that the way things are is the way that things should be, then I would predict that this book will not interest you all that much. Richard Edward Noble - The Hobo Philosopher - Author of: "A Summer with Charlie"

John Kenneth Galbraith sees the eternal struggles of economics as a battle between capital and labor and as things currently stand capital is delivering haymakers and body blows to labor. Labor has the numbers but capital has the advantage of... well, capital. Capital can afford the best representation and that has never been more true than today. Meanwhile Globalization has effectively destroyed labors bargaining power. In `The Good Society' Mr. Galbraith attempts to map out an economic plan for creating a good society for all, wealthy and poor. What sets Mr. Galbraith apart from many economists is his belief in a pragmatic rather than dogmatic approach. He even compares the Republican parties 1994 `Contract with America' to the `Communist Manifesto' for its ideological inflexibility. The problems seem to occur when people start believing that economics falls under the hard sciences when in truth it's more like tracking the weather where small perturbation can cause dramatic changes. One thing that the author has maintained through the years is that Feds actual effect on inflation and recessions is negligible and more smoke and mirrors meant to give the appearance that something is being done. The other issue is that Globalization has made it increasingly difficult for the Federal Reserve to adjust the levels of our economy. Occasionally the author comes off as a bit naive as when he talks about large scale modernization projects done in the third world saying, "The steel mills, hydroelectric plants and shiny airports, now sited among ignorant people, became sterile monuments to error - and failure." What Mr. Galbraith fails to recognize is that these projects are only failures from the perspective of the recipient countries who borrowed away their futures in order to acquire them. To the IMF and the construction companies involved it was a complete success. The author does recognize that the gift wealthy countries should have offered was the much less glamorous gift of education. In another section Mr. Galbraith says in reference to Imperialism and Colonialism, "We speak sometimes reflectively, of the end of history; here, indeed, history has come to an end." Writers who use the unfortunate term `end of history' have a bad tendency of being proven wrong in the end. John Kenneth Galbraith is one of the few economists of late who addresses the immense danger of wealth inequality. In contrast to Milton Freidman, Mr. Galbraith believes that there are both financial and ethical sides to economics as relates to helping the poor, protecting the environment and supporting workers rights. He also supports transnational organizations and sees Globalization as the inevitable future. In most ways Mr. Galbraith is swimming upstream against the trends in the United States which is exactly why I find his views more important than ever before. The book seemed to lose some steam about half way through and many of his ideas such as the danger of the military industrial complex have been addressed in his other book, still I recommend Mr. Galbraith as a responsible voice for progressive economics.

A collection of banalities! I've thrown my copy of the book away!

Excellent

Nice book.

A classic and important book in terms of helping people understand what the good society looks like. Continued escalation of income and wealth inequality will threaten social order and democracy.

A very fine copy of a very fine book from Thriftbooks at reasonable delivery charges

Every person, especially young people, would be well served to read this fora great articulation of incredible values for a democracy.