One of the little-celebrated powers of Presidents (and other high government officials) is to listen to their critics with just enough sympathy to ensure their silence.
John Kenneth GalbraithRead
In Europe and the United States the two decades following the Second World War will for long be remembered as a very good time, the time when capitalism really worked. Everywhere in the industrialized countries production increased. Unemployment was everywhere low. Prices were nearly stable. When production lagged and unemployment rose, governments intervened to take up the slack, as Keynes had urged.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The post-World War II era was marked by successful capitalist economies with low unemployment and stable prices.
John Kenneth Galbraith reflects on the two decades following the Second World War as a period when capitalism thrived in Europe and the United States. During this time, industrialized nations experienced significant production growth, low unemployment rates, and stable prices, showcasing the effectiveness of government intervention in the economy, as advocated by economist John Maynard Keynes, to address issues when they arose.
Themes
CapitalismEconomyPost-WarProductionUnemploymentGovernment Intervention
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a lecture about the successes of post-war economic policies.
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