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    A Study Guide for John Kenneth Galbraith's "The Affluent Society"
    A Study Guide for John Kenneth Galbraith's "The Affluent Society"
    A Study Guide for John Kenneth Galbraith's "The Affluent Society"
    Ebook44 pages29 minutes

    A Study Guide for John Kenneth Galbraith's "The Affluent Society"

    By Gale and Cengage

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    About this ebook

    A Study Guide for John Kenneth Galbraith's "The Affluent Society," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Nonfiction Classics for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Nonfiction Classics for Students for all of your research needs.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCengage Learning - Gale
    Release dateSep 20, 2016
    ISBN9781535834940
    A Study Guide for John Kenneth Galbraith's "The Affluent Society"

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      A Study Guide for John Kenneth Galbraith's "The Affluent Society" - Gale

      1

      The Affluent Society

      John Kenneth Galbraith

      1958

      Introduction

      The Affluent Society (1958), John Kenneth Galbraith's most broadly influential book, stands out among works of economic analysis for its accessible writing style, which makes complex economic concepts and arguments understandable to the popular reader. Galbraith's phrase conventional wisdom, a key concept introduced in The Affluent Society, has entered common parlance so pervasively that it is now used to describe a variety of concepts not necessarily related to economic theory.

      Galbraith asserts that the conventional wisdom of economic thinking in the United States is based in nineteenth-century European economic theory and is no longer suited to the unprecedented phenomenon of mass affluence achieved by American society in the twentieth century. He criticizes the overemphasis on high rates of production as a measure of economic prosperity, suggesting that other factors may be of greater importance. He further asserts that economic theory must take into account the importance of advertising in artificially creating high rates of consumption to support high rates of production.

      Galbraith's central concerns in reassessing the American economy include: the nature of American affluence; the relationship between production, consumption, and advertising; the abiding issue of poverty and economic inequality; and changing factors in such economic concerns as employment, inflation, and consumer debt. He ultimately advocates a greater emphasis on sales tax over property tax; greater government expenditure on such public services as education and health care; and a national goal of expanding the new class of citizens able to pursue work they find inherently enjoyable.

      Author Biography

      John Kenneth Galbraith is one of the most influential economists of the twentieth century. His more than forty books bridge the gap between academic economic theorists and the common reader, with witty, insightful, and accessible bestsellers such as American Capitalism (1952), The Affluent Society (1958), and The New Industrial State (1967). He is credited with having coined key phrases now in common parlance, most notably, conventional wisdom. His works include memoirs, novels, and art history books as well as the economic treatises for which he has made his name. Galbraith is a liberal who, in addition to writing and teaching, has played an active role in American politics. He has held various government posts and worked as a speech writer for United States Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon B. Johnson as well as presidential candidates Adlai Stevenson, Robert Kennedy, and George McGovern.

      Galbraith was born on October 15, 1908, on a farm in Iona Station, Ontario, Canada.

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