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John Kenneth Galbraith

John Kenneth Galbraith has passed away at the age of 97. Galbraith was a prolific writer and well known economist who had a long standing association with Harvard University, where he had taught as an economics professor. From BBC News:

He was not a great man for numbers or complex mathematical theories and models, but more of a social economist, whose accessible and prolific writing did much to popularise the subject.

"He was arguably one of the most famous economists outside of his profession for the way he was able to communicate complex ideas in a compelling way to non-economists," says the London Business School's Dominic Swords.

Although I'm not sure I would agree with many of his views (Galbraith was a self-avowed "evangelical Keynsian"), I must say that I respect the man's questioning nature and his willingness and ability to publicly pose questions about issues that seemed to evade the attention of many. Here was a man obviously dedicated to his work, not afraid to speak his mind and speak out on issues he believed in. With all respect - John Kenneth Galbraith, Rest In Peace.

Washington Post online feature on the life of John Kenneth Galbraith.

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