Thanks again for these letters. Incidentally, it's interesting to notice
that the President of Italy was taken as THE example in the world of no
power at all!
Manuela Mosca

> Ric,
> Thanks for posting this teaser of a great project. Wonderful letters.
Harro Maas
> On Sat, Jun 15, 2013 at 9:03 PM, Ric Holt <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>  Some of you might appreciate these letters between Joan Robinson and
>> Ken
>> Galbraith concerning her Richard Ely Lecture at the AEA meetings in
1971. I
>> was told not to add attachments to our e-mails to this list, so just a
few
>> here. Besides wanting to shake up the establishment with inviting Joan
to
>> give the prestigious Ely lecture, she also represented a goal Galbraith
had
>> as President of the AEA -- to achieve equality for women in the
economics
>> profession. Something interesting: the letters show the importance Mac
Bundy played in providing funds from the Ford Foundation to support this
>> goal. Also there is the interesting exchange between George Borts,
Managing
>> Editor of the AEA, and Paul Davidson and others about the selection
process
>> of articles for the Review -- a very contentious discussion. Finally,
some
>> interesting exchanges between Galbraith and Jim Tobin and Ken Arrow as
they
>> tried to work on the transitions from one AEA president to the next
during
>> this period while supporting certain long term goals. The achievements
of
>> Tobin, Galbraith and Arrow as Presidents of the Association was very
impressive. The profession owes all three a lot.
>> The Galbraith Letter Project is still plugging along. I have collected
over 11,000 letters so far and in the process of providing annotation to
>> them.
>> Ric Holt
>> 20 July 1971
>> Dear Ken,
>> Many thanks for your letter and comic cuts. I propose as the title of
my
>> lecture, “The Second Crisis of Economic Theory”. I will put in a few
highbrow bits, but on the whole I think I can treat the subject in a way
>> that the broad masses ought to understand.
>> Yours sincerely,
>> Joan Robinson
>> 62 Grange Road
>> Cambridge
>>  December 29, 1971
>> Dear Ken:
>> I much enjoyed the opportunity to have a go at AEA. I am grateful to
you
>> for arranging it. I found that having you as President has aroused my
hope
>> among the dissent groups that something might be done about the Review.
There is first of all the question [of] the papers joint between URPE and
>> AEA being printed in the proceedings and, more generally, the editorial
policy of the Review to only print neoclassical stuff (They even
refused
>> a
>> piece by Franklin Fisher because he came out on my side about the
production function!) Gurley has been treated insolently. For the sake of
>> their own reputation as the organ of the profession I think they should
be
>> made to see how they look.
>> It was very noticeable how the younger generation was reacting at the
meetings.
>> With thanks once more
>> Yours
>>   Joan
>> January 12, 1972
>> Dear Joan:
>>             Many thanks for your note. If the meetings were slightly
>> less
>> stuffy and neoclassical than usual, it was owing more to you than to
anyone
>> else. It was extremely good of you to accept the invitation and your
paper
>> was absolutely superb.
>>             The president of the Association, as I think I said once in
>> New Orleans, has powers closely paralleling the President of Italy, but
perhaps less. Indeed this is the way in which all establishment
maintain
>> themselves. One diffuses power through people who are reliably like of
mind. But I hope to have some slight influence on the Journals, and I’m
also going to make a particularly determined effort to revise hiring
practices in the profession and see if I can win a better break for women.
>> A good deal has been done in the past couple of years to put the
problems
>> of the black and Spanish-speaking minorities on the professional
conscience. Discrimination against women remains in some degree the most
>> blatant.
>>             Would you, when you get back to Cambridge, write me a
little
>> more complete observation and complaint – something that I can send to
the
>> editor to ask for his comments. Sometimes the knowledge of an
>> unsatisfied
>> clientele produces some results.
>> Love,
>> John Kenneth Galbraith
> --
> *Harro Maas **| *Associate professor in history and methodology of
economics
> * **|* Utrecht University School of Economics (USE) *|** **Faculty of
Law,
> Economics & Governance **|* Kriekenpitplein 21-22 *|* Room 109* **|
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> *
> [image: cid:image001.jpg@01CE683C.38CCDEC0]


-- 
Manuela Mosca
Universita' del Salento - Dipartimento di Scienze dell'Economia
Universita' di Bologna - Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche
Content Manager of the ESHET website
ssrn author page:
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=352869
website: http://www.dsems.unile.it/mosca/index.htm