John Kenneth Galbraith -- The Man Who Taught True Economics Dies

Economics is not just a technical science or craft. It is a political process.

This is what John Kenneth Galbraith taught to those very few who would listen. It goes like this:

1) If you make something someone else wants to buy, you have a potential economic transaction;
2) If, instead, you create a demand for a product you plan to make, you have many potential economic transactions;
3) When your competitors see what you have done, they will also try to create a demand for their products;
4) When potential purchasers see that producers are competing, they create a demand for the best products, inspiring innovation;
5) This moves economies from primitive barter systems to sophisticated modern exchanges.

The whole process is based on demand creation, which is a cultural, social and political phenomenon, limited only by the innovativeness of the people. The system is corrupted by lies and frauds, so the aim of economic management is simply to control and bar those who cheat.

It was a brilliant analysis, never seriously taken up by any government. Instead, modern western governments follow the idiocy of monetarism, a simple system for supporting the rich.

Galbratih is now dead, at the final age of 97. He was a great man.