Review of a Journey Through Economic Time

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December 6, 2009 Review of A Journey through Economic Time Whether it is World War I, the Great Depression, or the fall of communism, John Kenneth Galbraith covers it in his book entitled A Journey through Economic Time. Galbraith was born in 1908 and lived through all of the events that he discusses, showing a firsthand view of the happenings. He was born, and lived, in Canada until 1937. He received his doctorate degree in the field of agricultural economics from the University of California in 1934. Later in his life, Galbraith became a presidential advisor, Harvard professor, and also headed many other economic organizations. He also has written upwards of twenty five books on economics, A Journey through Economic Time being one of his last before he died in April of 2006. Throughout this book Galbraith discusses multiple historic events that impacted the world and gives his view on what happened economically during those times. He primarily focuses on decisions that the government made involving economics and the effects those decisions had on various historical events. After reading A Journey through Economic Time, I feel that the main theme of the book is that the ignorance of political leaders is what leads to most economic troubles. This idea is shown in multiple instances throughout the book. There are two other minor themes that also emerge from the book. The first of these being that capitalism is essential to having an economically sound nation. In the first chapter, Galbraith wrote, “Economic growth is the further dynamic of capitalism.” The second minor theme that materializes in Galbraith’s work is the idea that programs benefiting the lower class, rather than the “comfortable” class, were beneficial to the United States. He brings this topic up multiple times throughout his book. Galbraith shows, through his depictions of

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