"In all life one should comfort the afflicted, but verily, also, one should afflict the comfortable, and especially when they are comfortably, contentedly, even happily wrong"

John Kenneth Galbraith’s insight on social justice emphasizes a dynamic approach to morality and action. Rather than simply adhering to a static definition of kindness or charity, he advocates for a balanced response depending on the circumstance of others. To “comfort the afflicted” is to extend empathy and aid to those in hardship, recognizing suffering and responding with compassion. It is an injunction to address pain, inequity, and misfortune with support and solidarity, upholding a fundamental ethical duty to alleviate the distress of the vulnerable.

The latter part, “afflict the comfortable,” calls for a proactive challenge to those who experience ease, security, or advantage, especially when that comfort is maintained through ignorance, complacency, or even active wrongdoing. Galbraith is not suggesting cruelty or unjust antagonism, but rather the necessity of confronting those who are insulated by their privilege or position when they are “happily wrong.” The phrase “comfortably, contentedly, even happily wrong” highlights the particular risk that residing in comfort brings: the tendency to become blind to the realities and ethical demands of the world, satisfied in error or injustice because it serves one’s own wellbeing.

Moral responsibility, in this context, is not simply to “go along” with the circumstances, but to act: to soothe pain where it exists, and to disrupt complacency when it shields people from needed change or truth. This dual responsibility corrects the imbalances of society, tending to both suffering and misguidance, refusing to allow comfort to become complicity. Galbraith’s words invite us to play an active role in both healing and awakening, to stand for justice in a way that does not let wrongness hide behind happiness or peace, and to courageously disrupt when it’s required, especially for those who are most insulated from consequence.