New York, April 30: John Kenneth Galbraith, an influential liberal economist, diplomat and the author of “The Affluent Society,” has died at the age of 97, The New York Times reported on Sunday. Mr Galbraith, a professor emeritus at Harvard University, died on Saturday at a hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the paper said.

His most famous work, 1958’s “The Affluent Society,” became a bestseller. In it he argued that the United States had become rich in consumer goods but poor in social services.

The Canadian-born economist, one of the towering economic thinkers of the century, often found himself at odds with the mainstream ideas of the day but delighted in his stubborn defence of principle.

An early opponent of the Vietnam War and outspoken critic of supply-side economics which dominated the 1980s, Mr Galbraith taught for more than a half a century at Harvard where few colleagues — with the exception of Henry Kissinger — had as much influence on American policy.

A life-long Democrat, Mr Galbraith was heavily influenced by British economist John Maynard Keynes, who advocated government spending to reduce unemployment.

Mr Galbraith supported a much shorter work week, the women’s liberation movement and an international council to help the victims of man-made disasters.