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Title: The Affluent Society by John Kenneth Galbraith ISBN: 0-395-92500-2 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Co Pub. Date: 15 October, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.38 (13 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Affluent Society was a partly factual and interesting book.
Comment: The Affluent Society was a term to describe the United States after World War II. An Affluent Society is rich in private resources but poor in public ones because of a misplaced priority on increasing production in the private sector. John Kenneth Galbraith argued that the U.S. should shift resources to improve schools, the infrastructure, recreational resources, and social services providing a better standard of life instead of mor and more consumer goods. The term is now used to indicate prosperity, wide spread I shouldn't tell you any more or it would spoil your experience when you read it. It was a great book. John Galbraith game some great opinions which he truly believed in. I would reccomend this book to anyone who is into American history.
Rating: 5
Summary: A book all students of economics should read.
Comment: If you agree with Galbraith's notions on economics you may find this a seminal work. If you disagree with him you will no where find a better spar for your own ideas. (Friedman spent an entire book analyzing Galbraith) Love it or hate it The Affluent Society looms large in American economic thought of the 20th century. The book itself is dedicated primarily to re-assessing the role of production in an economy of increasing affluence. Economics long ago acquired the unhappy designation as "the dismal science." This was derived from the observation by all famous early economists that economic life for the masses was inevitably harsh. Ricardo, Smith, and Marx all agreed that while a minority might enjoy abundance the majority were doomed to struggle for their very economic survival. As early as the 1950s Galbraith made the very simple point that the economic prospects of the masses are no longer dark. The average worker could (and still does) expect reasonable wages, a constant supply of luxury goods, and free time to enjoy these things. The modern economy is no longer a battle for simple survival but rather one over what an individual's share of excess production should be. Some reviewers have commented that the specifics in The Affluent Society have become dated. Indeed automotive tail-fins are no longer the common automotive add-on they once were, but the underlying questions remain valid. In the economy of 150 years ago to claim that suffering was inevitable seemed fair, for it was the state of the masses. In the economy of the present where economic deprivation is no longer the norm, to claim some must suffer while the majority live in relative affluence suddenly appears cruel.
A social scientist who argued the changes of the last 200 years were not relevant to analysis would be laughed at in any other field. Unequivocably our economic priorities have changed during that time. The Affluent Society provides a history of that change, a look at how our failure to adapt has led to a number of social problems, and suggests how we might better organize economic priorities in the present. It is no small acheivement.
Rating: 4
Summary: Thought Provoking, Well Written Leftist Economics
Comment: Galbraith's book is certainly thought-provoking & worth reading. His arguments are well thought out, and his writing is wryly witty. Even if you disagree with his views, as many have, it's worth a read.
Galbraith starts the book off by reviewing how many early economic ideas were created in periods of scarcity, and that the notion of scarcity may not appropriate for today's age of mass affluence. Those with vested interests in production (i.e. large businesses) still cling to the "conventional wisdom" that increased production equals progress, even though goods are now abundant and our basic material needs have been satisfied. To stimulate further demand, corporations must resort to salesmanship and advertising. If advertising stopped, demand would fall, production would drop, and unemployment would rise; thus, business continue to focus on increasing production to ensure their own survival.
There are other threats to production. Economic cycles may result in a depression. Poorly managed firms may have to lay off workers. As a result, people -- and especially politicians --focus on economic growth to avoid these insecurities. Growth is something that both the rich and poor will vote for, since they both want to keep their jobs and acquire more goods. Growing out of a recession also seems promising. The net result is that society as a whole focuses on increasing production by private industry.
Next, Galbraith shifts his view from private industry to the public sector. He does this by introducing the idea of social balance, which asserts that as private spending increases, public spending should increase to match. For example, if factories build more cars, more money needs to be invested in public roads. Unfortunately, private goods are sold via advertising by companies that can react quickly to changes in demand. In contrast, public investment by governments reacts much more slowly, and typically lags private spending and investment, due to regulations, bureaucracy, and voter's general aversion to new taxes. The result is a world rich in private goods but poor in public ones: beautiful cars driving on poor roads, well-dressed kids in the crumbling public school, neighborhoods with beautiful homes but polluted parks.
So what to do? Galbraith's proposed solution is that we should invest in our economic infrastructure: our parks, our roads, our educational system, long-term scientific research, police, and the like. To fund this, he emphasizes sales taxes, which reduce consumption, and make those who consume a lot pay for it. To alleviate poverty and inequality, Galbraith also proposes to expand unemployment insurance so that one could choose not to work, yet still be able to get by. In his view, this would allow more people to reduce their work week, or not work at all, or to be able to focus on work they really enjoy.
Although this is certainly a liberal view & may not be feasible, his views certainly were eye-opening and thought provoking. For that reason, I recommend the book.
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Title: The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen ISBN: 0486280624 Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 20 May, 1994 List Price(USD): $3.00 |
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Title: Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman, Rose D. Friedman ISBN: 0226264211 Publisher: University of Chicago Press Pub. Date: November, 2002 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money (Great Minds Series) by John Maynard Keynes ISBN: 1573921394 Publisher: Prometheus Books Pub. Date: May, 1997 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy by Joseph A. Schumpeter ISBN: 0061330086 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 21 December, 1962 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: The Great Crash 1929 by John Kenneth Galbraith ISBN: 0395859999 Publisher: Mariner Books Pub. Date: 30 April, 1997 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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