economic doctrines. Galbraith acknowledges Marshall's profound influence on conventional economic thought.

Karl Marx
Karl Marx (1818–1883), the German-Jewish visionary, reshaped the landscape of political and economic history with the formulation of Marxist theory. His landmark works, including the pioneering The Communist Manifesto (1848) co-authored with Friedrich Engels, and Das Kapital, reverberate through modern political movements. Galbraith frequently invokes Marx in The Affluent Society, highlighting his enduring impact on contemporary ideology.

John Stuart Mill
John Stuart Mill (1806–1873) emerged as a titan of economic theory and Utilitarian philosophy, championing women's suffrage and co-founding the first women's suffrage society in 1867, later known as the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies. His seminal pamphlet, The Subjection of Women (1869), continues to resonate. Galbraith credits Mill as a foundational influence in the tapestry of American economic theory.

J. P. Morgan
See John Pierpont Morgan

John Pierpont Morgan

John Pierpont Morgan
John Pierpont Morgan (1837–1913) reigned as a formidable titan of American industry during the dawn of the twentieth century. His banking powerhouse, J. P. Morgan and Company, which emerged in 1895, quickly ascended to global prominence. Morgan wielded dominion over the vast railroad network sprawling across the United States and presided over one of the world's most influential railway enterprises. His masterful orchestration of mergers and consolidations in pivotal industries crowned him leader over colossal corporations like United States Steel, General Electric, and the International Harvester Company. Morgan's vast industrial dominion embraced banks and insurance firms. Galbraith ranks Morgan amidst a cadre of American industrial giants of that era, highlighting how these business leaders became akin to celebrities, their ventures inseparably linked to their illustrious identities. Yet, Galbraith notes a shift in perception, as modern-day business magnates no longer captivate public attention as they once did.

David Ricardo

David Ricardo
David Ricardo (1772–1823) stands as a pioneering English economist whose work laid the groundwork for economics as a rigorous scientific discipline in the early nineteenth century. Celebrated for his "Iron Law of Wages," Ricardo posited that the wages of the common people would perpetually linger at subsistence levels. Galbraith includes Ricardo, alongside Smith and Malthus, as part of the "founding trinity of economics," and lauds him as "the man who first gave economics its modern structure." Like Malthus, Ricardo adhered to the somber belief that widespread poverty was an inescapable reality of economic systems—a sentiment that seeped into the conventional wisdom of nineteenth-century economic thought, persisting into the early twentieth century. Though Ricardo's theories dominated the financial discourse through the mid-nineteenth century, they encountered competition from Karl Marx's theories, which offered a remedy for widespread poverty.

John D. Rockefeller

John D. Rockefeller
John D. Rockefeller (1839–1937) carved his legacy as a commanding force in American industry with the establishment of the Standard Oil Company. His formidable business maneuvers spearheaded the enactment of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890, a response to monopolistic practices. As years advanced, Rockefeller embraced philanthropy, channeling around $500 million into founding institutions like the University of Chicago in 1892, Rockefeller University in 1901, and the Rockefeller Foundation in 1903. Galbraith paints Rockefeller as an exemplar of the capitalist notion that wealth begets wealth, thus deepening the economic chasm between rich and poor. Rockefeller's fierce business strategies were justified by the "survival of the fittest" ideology, suggesting that financial triumph naturally came at the expense of many.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945), the thirty-second president of the United States, held the helm from 1933 to 1945. His New Deal initiatives aimed to rescue the nation from the mire of the Great Depression, ignited by the stock market crash of 1929. Initially, economic orthodoxy dictated that a balanced national budget was key to stability, a belief that propelled Roosevelt into office in 1932. However, as the Depression waned, Roosevelt's policies evolved, prioritizing unemployment reduction as the crucial antidote to the economic crisis, reflecting a shift in prevailing economic thought.

Adam Smith

Adam Smith
Adam Smith (1723–1790), a luminary of the Scottish Enlightenment, profoundly shaped political economy and social philosophy. His opus, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776), introduced the first comprehensive theory of political economy. During his lifetime, Smith enjoyed international acclaim for his impact on social science and economic theory. Galbraith places Smith alongside Ricardo and Malthus as part of the "founding trinity of economics," and hails him as "the first great figure in the central economic tradition." Smith was the inaugural influential economist to propose that humanity's economic condition could scarcely surpass subsistence, a notion Galbraith dubs "the most despairing dictum in the history of social comment."

Herbert Spencer

Herbert Spencer
Herbert Spencer (1820–1903) was a towering intellectual of the Victorian era, whose ideas spanned biology, psychology, philosophy, and sociology. A staunch advocate for individualism, Spencer's chief work was The Synthetic Philosophy (1896). Although Charles Darwin later provided a more precise evolutionary theory, Spencer had earlier proposed a rudimentary version and swiftly acknowledged Darwin's superiority. Spencer coined the term "survival of the fittest" to encapsulate the essence of "natural selection," applying evolutionary concepts to social and economic spheres, thus birthing Social Darwinism. Galbraith discusses Spencer in the context of Social Darwinism's influence on American economic thought.

John Strachey

John Strachey
John Strachey (1901–1963), a British Socialist and Labour Party politician, wielded considerable influence through his Marxist writings. Galbraith describes him as "the most articulate contemporary English Marxist" of the early twentieth century.

William Graham Sumner

William Graham Sumner
William Graham Sumner (1840–1910), a prominent American economist, emerged as a staunch proponent of Social Darwinism. His seminal work, Folkways (1907), further cemented his reputation. Galbraith regards Sumner as the "major prophet" of Social Darwinism in the United States.

Frank Taussig
Frank Taussig (1859–1940) was a distinguished American economic theorist, whose groundbreaking concepts on international trade left a profound mark on American policy during the era of President Woodrow Wilson. Galbraith hails Taussig as "the leading figure in the central tradition" of American economic thought, underscoring his pivotal role in shaping economic discourse.

R. H. Tawney
R. H. Tawney (1880–1962) stood as a towering figure in the realm of English economic history. A stalwart socialist within the British Labour Party throughout the tumultuous 1920s and 1930s, Tawney was not only a thinker but also a fervent social reformer, whose visionary ideas found life during his time. His penetrating works, The Acquisitive Society (1920) and Religion and the Rise of Capitalism (1926), became cornerstones of economic literature. In his reflections, Galbraith brings Tawney into discussions about the balance between high production levels and their impact on social welfare.

Thorstein Veblen
Thorstein Veblen (1857–1929), an illustrious American economic theorist, rooted his ideas in the principles of Social Darwinism. His seminal work, The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899), introduced the enduring concept of "conspicuous consumption." Galbraith, in his commentary, paints Veblen as a "prophet of gloom," alongside George, due to his bleak economic forecasts. Veblen's theories suggest that economic inequality is woven into the very fabric of human society, presenting a stark view that "there is no hope for change" from this entrenched structure.