The Affluent Society

by Galbraith, John Kenneth

• ISBN13: 9780395925003
• ISBN10: 0395925002
• Edition: 40th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-10-15
• Publisher: Mariner Books

Summary

Galbraith's classic on the "economics of abundance" is, in the words of the New York Times, "a compelling challenge to conventional thought." With customary clarity, eloquence, and humor, Galbraith cuts to the heart of what economic security means (and doesn't mean) in today's world and lays bare the hazards of individual and societal complacence about economic inequity. While "affluent society" and "conventional wisdom" (first used in this book) have entered the vernacular, the message of the book has not been so widely embraced--reason enough to rediscover The Affluent Society.

Table of Contents

Introduction to the Fortieth Anniversary Edition	viii
1. The Affluent Society	1	(5)
2. The Concept of the Conventional Wisdom	6	(12)
3. Economics and the Tradition of Despair	18	(11)
4. The Uncertain Reassurance	29	(12)
5. The American Mood	41	(14)
6. The Marxian Pall	55	(11)
7. Inequality	66	(15)
8. Economic Security	81	(18)
9. The Paramount Position of Production	99	(15)
10. The Imperatives of Consumer Demand	114	(10)
11. The Dependence Effect	124	(8)
12. The Vested Interest in Output	132	(11)
13. The Bill Collector Cometh	143	(11)
14. Inflation	154	(12)
15. The Monetary Illusion	166	(11)
16. Production and Price Stability	177	(9)
17. The Theory of Social Balance	186	(14)
18. The Investment Balance	200	(9)
19. The Transition	209	(8)
20. The Divorce of Production from Security	217	(6)
21. The Redress of Balance	223	(11)
22. The Position of Poverty	234	(9)
23. Labor, Leisure and the New Class	243	(12)
24. On Security and Survival	255	(6)
Afterword	261	(4)
Index	265