The Economics of Innocent Fraud

Prof Galbraith is definitely getting on in years, now that he's 96, but his age was no impediment to writing this short and lively book.

This latest work is a must read for anyone having a few nagging doubts about what we're being told every day by financial publications and right-wing politicians, and by left-wing politicians as well. Galbraith clarifies the meaning of terms which have been thoroughly garbled by propagandists during the last few decades.

Garbling, or "spinning" as it is now known, is a fancy kind of lying ("misdirection" or "misinformation") intended to convince people of something that is false, or to gain acceptance for what people would otherwise reject. Inconveniently, Galbraith would have you know just what kind of manure is being heaped upon your plate for all 3 meals.^*

What the good Professor reminds us is that no one can predict the human future, not even somewhat accurately.

"... the performance of the corporate system, specifically the sequence and duration of boom and recession, cannot be foreseen. The causes in all their varied effect cannot be known in advance." p 59

Prof Galbraith informs us that the Fed has a very bad record of managing the economy. Dr Greenspan is an excellent politician, but probably did little to change the eventual course of economic events. Galbraith makes this criticism, having been responsible for key elements of the US economy during Word War II. [This implies indifference regarding Greenspan's re-appointment.]

He repeats several times Eisenhower's famous warning about the "military-industrial" complex. He feels war is a human failure, suggesting we should learn how not to fail. He also points out that Corporations are managed by gigantic bureaucracies, which are little different from government bureaucracies. He tells us that capitalists are still capitalists, no matter how disguised by words and image-makers.

He notes that there is damn little difference between "public" and "private" enterprise in the United States. This is not because of the overweening and unwelcome encroachments of the government; rather, it is the private sphere which has moved into the White House and, I add, most Congressional Offices. Galbraith does not call this Fascism, but I do (see dictionary for definition).

I have the feeling this book is short, and set the way it is, because the old man is running out energy and time. I really hope this is not his last, as John Kenneth Galbraith is, for me, a living legend. He has had an enormous influence on my life and thought. He has been, and always will be, a very wise man.

I take this book as a much needed floating of ideas that are recently taking on water in the current Sea of Nonsense. I urge all of you to get a copy, read it, and consider carefully these ancient, worthy words.

^*Maybe that is why liberals - that's people like me - are not well liked. We have an unfortunate tendency to tell you that your Hummer is going to cost you a fortune at the gas pump. But, you say, you pay with a credit card, so it doesn't matter. Later on, you'll just refi the house again.