Sunday, April 30, 2006

R.I.P. John Kenneth Galbraith

I learned a lot from the works of John Kenneth Galbraith, who died today at the age of 97. This witty and wise man popularized the concept of "countervailing power" -- the notion that labor and government were necessary bridles for capitalism. That idea now seems to belong to another time. A better time.

Galbraith was the deputy head of the Office of Price Administration in World War II. Businessmen often came to his office to plead for exemptions from wartime restrictions. I recall reading -- somewhere -- that Galbraith and his assistant devised a clever signal: Whenever an "appellant" seemed to stray from the world of strict fact, Galbraith would wriggle two fingers up and down. This gesture referred to the way ants might wriggle their antennae in order to "talk" to each other while trudging neck-deep through moist bullshit.

These days, I cannot watch cable news for ten consecutive seconds without wriggling my fingers.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

joe, thanks so much for remembering dr. galbraith. a very dear friend of mine was his favorite care nurse in his later years, and she spoke often and fondly about his spunk, his wit, and his towering intellect. not to mention his towering physique; she had to help him get out of bed, and he was a giant.

but mostly a giant in his dedication to the american principle of fairness and balance, the exact opposite of the 'fair and balanced' truthiness we get from cable these days.