The Culture of ContentmentThe Culture of Contentment is a keen and striking appraisal of America's current, far from happy state of affairs, written by possibly our wisest and certainly our most lucid and irreverent economist, John Kenneth Galbraith. This major new work goes far beyond Ronald Reagan and George Bush to ultimate and controlling causes--to the rise of a greatly self-satisfied elite that is now dominant in the electoral process. The result: today, a once strong and aspiring nation has lapsed into a self-serving economic and social stasis. Surveying this development with a detached and penetrating eye, Galbraith lives up to his reputation as "the voice and conscience of the economic profession." Galbraith here scrutinizes the perilous by-products of complacency: a commitment to short-term action and inaction, restricted investment as a basic policy, government seen only as a burden, corporate sclerosis, and the dark side of financial speculation. He also considers the fate of the "functional underclass," people who are stalled in poverty and denied the crucial support needed to change their situation. The larcenous savings-and-loan and junk-bond scandals are examined as major examples of the controlling principles of contentment. And from the clear-eyed global perspective for which he is celebrated, Galbraith regards key issues on the world scene: the emergence of the powerful new economies of Japan and Germany, the larger, often recreational nature of foreign policy, and self-controlling, self-enhancing military power. Making no concession to false optimism, Galbraith leaves no one in doubt as to what could be done, little as we may be disposed to do it. Here, in short, is an acute and powerful assessment of where we are heading and not heading and what the consequences will be, from one of the sharpest and most original minds of our time. |
Contents
The Functional Underclass | 30 |
The License for Financial Devastation | 51 |
The Bureaucratic Syndrome | 65 |
Copyright | |
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accepted action Adam Smith adverse affluent age of contentment American attitude bank benign budget bureaucratic capitalism comfortable constituency consumer contented electoral majority contented majority corporate raiding corporation cost countries culture of contentment defense deficit democracy Democratic doctrine doubt economic economists effect employment enterprise escape especially evident expenditure favored force foreign policy fortunate ical income increase industrial inflation interest rates investment John Kenneth Galbraith John Maynard Keynes junk bonds Kevin Phillips laissez faire less leveraged buyouts matter measure ment military establishment military power modern Monetarism monetary policy mood nomic notably noted organization past percent perhaps politics of contentment poor President presidential Reagan recession or depression reduced resistance resulting reward rich RJR Nabisco role serve short-run social Soviet Union specific taxation taxes tentment thought threat tion underclass United urban Vietnam vote wealth well-being wholly William Graham Sumner workers World York