The Affluent Society - 40th Edition by John Kenneth Galbraith (Paperback)

About the Book

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.

Book Synopsis

John Kenneth Galbraith's classic investigation of private wealth and public poverty in postwar America.

With customary clarity, eloquence, and humor, Harvard economist John Kenneth Galbraith gets at the heart of what economic security means in The Affluent Society.

Warning against individual and societal complacence about economic inequity, he offers an economic model for investing in public wealth that challenges "conventional wisdom" (a phrase he coined that has since entered our vernacular) about the long-term value of a production-based economy and the true nature of poverty. Both politically divisive and remarkably prescient, The Affluent Society is as relevant today on the question of wealth in America as it was in 1958.

Review Quotes

"One of the most gifted writers alive . . . tumbling the tribal Gods of both left and right." Boston Globe

"With his 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 complacency about economic inequity." The New York Times --