Former O.P.A. administrator Paul A. Porter last night bucked the academic cyclical theory of "boom-bust" and predicted that adequate governmental controls would prevent a depression.

"I can't see the economy forever operating like an inchworm--with a hump for the 'boom' and a glide for the 'bust,'" Porter declared.

"By backing President Truman's eight-point anti-inflation program, we can save this country--and perhaps the world--from the effects of a depression," he added.

Porter made these claims before an second Law School Forum of the fall series.

The object of his attack on the cyclical audience of more than 500 persons at the theory was Malcolm P. McNair, professor of marketing at the Business School, who first used the "inchworm" analogy in support of his conservative "do nothing" policy.

NcNair Decries Taxes

McNair asserted that only war or similar emergencies demand more governmental controls than now exist. he excluded taxes and the slight reins on consumer credit from the category of controls.

Expecting a natural decline in accordance with the cyclical theory, McNair said that a budget slash plus possible tax increases would avoid "irreparable long-term damage to the economy, which would be the result of additional governmental controls."

Porter, on the other hand, supported the return of direct price control on consumer goods, a tax on excess profits, restoration of full rent control, extension of consumer credit controls, and allocation of critical materials in short supply.