Evening star., 1960-08-07

among CnOSe VINO Ceacn MS
subject.
He is entertaining as we'll
as instructive. Unlike most
professors Of economics. he
does not smother his ideas in
ponderouS and technical
terms. He writes with clarity,
charm and unfailing humor.
The professor makes stat
istics his servants, using them
when they are effective, new
er letting them overwhelm
him.
In THE Liberal Hour" he
discusses a variety of things,
reaching certain conclusions
which should be helpful to
us in contemplating the dark
and uncertain world Of today
and in facing some of our
more personal problems.
The author of The Af1iu-
ent Society" never follows the
well-worn paths of plati-
tudes. He has his own ideas.
and they are always a little
different.
Beyond Competition
Mr.. Galbraith points out,
in a section on economic his
tory, that "the marriage of
economics and history pro-
duces q hybrid which regu-
larly combines the inadequa-
cies Of both"
He realizes fully - who
could not?-the menace of
Soviet expansion, and he is
aware Of the frenzied COM
petition Of ussia in the
world markets. And yet he
says that even though we
may wish for a more rapid
and reliable economic growth
for other reasons. q pro-
duction contest with the So
viets will not advance our
cause" He explains:
I'VE ought not assume that
the competition is confined
to space mechanics. as we
show some signs of doing.
Certainly our performance
here should be far better than
it has been. To the outside
observer, at least, the effort
seems to have consisted of a
nearly unique combination of
lethargy. bureaucratic rivalry
and ex-post facto apology.
We must determine to be the
first to put man in space, and
1t should be a public relations
expert. But to confine our
attention to space explora-
ton is to limit ourselves to
only one part where we are
doing badly. 1t is. in effect,
to allow the SovietS to con-
fine the race to the things in
which they have an ad-
vantage"
The Arts Count
Mr.. Galbraith contends
that "the scientific virtuos-
ity Of a society is only one
measure of its quality. Other
forms OF intellectual and
artistic achievement are also
important. And they derive
even more Importance from
the fact that it is the intel
lectuals and the artists who
have both the first words and
the last on the quality of a
culture"
While he points out that
we should not be too superior
about Soviet culture-citing
music, the ballet. even some
great novels - he adds:
yet in this part of life
especially in writing, the
modern theater, painting and
architecture our lead over
the SovietS is great. The
arts, to state a proposition
of no breathtaking novelty
do not flourish where they
are inhibited by formal
dogma.
Prof. Galbraith has COM
fort for the individual in this
machine age.
Machines do not improve
themselves; this is still the
work Of highly improved
men. And most technology
cal advance is now the re-
suit not of the accident of
inspiration or genius, but of
highly purposeful effort. Once
we had to wait for the acci-
dental appearance Of Edisons
and Wrights. Now through
education and organized ef-
fort in a laboratory or ex-
perimental shop we get some
thing approaching the same
results from much more
common clay"
Man Still on Top
Capital alone cannot as
sure the success of any busi-
ness or industrial enterprise
he is convinced. The skillful
efforts Of those directing
these corporations is of much
more Importance.
For man, he concludes
has not retreated before the
machine; rather the machine
I'LL GA GL