Sisyphus as Social Democrat

J. Bradford DeLong reviews John Kenneth Galbraith: His Life, His Politics, His Economics by Richard Parker in Foreign Affairs, May/June 2005

Galbraith's lack of influence is attributed to his lack of a single simple comprehensive explanation. Seems to me, though, that this summary

The right-wing claim that the most efficient economy is one in which the gales of perfect competition scour the land is, in Galbraith's view, nonsense. Modern industrial and post-industrial production is a large-scale process, large-scale processes require planning, and planning requires stability -- which means that the gales of the market must be calmed.

is as simple as any summary of Friedman.

Harry Johnson, in his superb but not entirely fair critique of Milton Friedman's Monetarists, said that in order to carry out an intellectual revolution in economics, one must propound a doctrine that has three qualities: it can be summarized in a single sentence, it provides the young with an excuse for ignoring the work of their elders, and it tells the young what they can do to further the revolution.

This could be applied to intellectual revolutions outside economics. On the other hand, the defense of Galbraith could summarize his position in a sentence, too: "It's not that simple." To say our elders over-simplified likewise gives reason to ignore their work. The problem is that saying problems are complex makes it hard to outline the future work that needs to be done.

DeLong sees Parker as showing through Galbraith's career the rise and fall of twentieth century liberalism. The political diagnosis and prescription is familiar: liberals (Democrats) are listening too much to consultants and rich contributors and have lost touch with the interests of working people. DeLong disagrees.

It is not that the Democratic establishment has lost its nerve or been seduced by law firms and lobbyists; it is that the old Horatio Alger myth has proved extraordinarily durable.

The American working class sees the advancing of its interests in advancing out of the working class.