John Kenneth Galbraith Nationality: American Type: Economist Born: October 15, 1908 Died: April 29, 2006 The modern conservative is engaged in one of mans oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, its just the opposite. The only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable. Faced with the choice between changing ones mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof. The conventional view serves to protect us from the painful job of thinking. All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership. Liberalism is, I think, resurgent. One reason is that more and more people are so painfully aware of the alternative. More die in the United States of too much food than of too little. There are times in politics when you must be on the right side and lose. Few people at the beginning of the nineteenth century needed an adman to tell them what they wanted. There are few ironclad rules of diplomacy but to one there is no exception. When an official reports that talks were useful, it can safely be concluded that nothing was accomplished. Nothing is so admirable in politics as a short memory. Modesty is a vastly overrated virtue.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Mar 2014 13:47:39 +0000
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