John Kenneth Galbraith, lifelong critic of unbridled corporate power and one of the most renowned economists of the twentieth century, explodes the myths at the core of Western society. Sounding the alarm on the gap between 'conventional wisdom' and reality, Galbraith distils years of expertise to deliver a scathing critique of today's economics, politics and public morality. He shows the danger of the private sector's unprecedented and unbridled control over public life - from government to the military to the environment. And he reveals how politicians and the media have colluded in the myths of a benign market: that big business always knows best, that minimal intervention stimulates the economy, that obscene pay gaps and unrestrained self-enrichment are an inevitable by-product of the system. The result, he shows, is that we have given ourselves over to a lie and come to accept legal, legitimate, innocent fraud. Galbraith's taut, wry and incisive analysis shows that the gulf between truth and illusion has never been wider. It is essential reading for anyone who cares about the economic and political future of the world.