The Intellectual Socialism of John

W hat makes the work of John Kenneth Galbraith vital is that for over twenty-five years he has vigorously opposed the severance of economics from its historical and philosophical moorings. He is not a good economist if we use the methodology and content of contemporary social science as our standards of excellence. Galbraith is more than an economist. He is primarily a reflective intellectual who thinks that the central concern of scholarly discourse should be what is good for human beings. Galbraith is also a political activist who believes that strategies for the implementation of the good society deserve top priority. For over twenty-five years, however, he has been highly critical not only of political conservatives but also of political liberals, socialists, and Marxists. Association with the Kennedy clan, journalistic battles with conservative Milton Friedman, membership in the liberal Americans for Democratic Action, an ambassadorship to India, and his recent public television series gave to Galbraith an exposure which few other scholars or activists can attain. This exposure also gave to Galbraith the reputation of being a liberal. But Galbraith is not a good liberal if we use the programs of recent American liberals as our standards of liberalism. (Contem porary liberalism is in so much definitional disarray that it is difficult to understand the thrust of political liberalism.) Galbraith is