The Culture of Contentment [Paperback]

John Kenneth Galbraith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 5, 1993

This book traces the course of America's current sense of contentment, stemming from the economic comfort achieved by the fortunate, politically dominant community during the Reagan-Bush era of the 1980s. Galbraith focuses on the results of this stasis, including short-term thinking and investment, government as a burden, and corporate sclerosis. The author also explores international issues, such as the parallels between the denial of trouble in Eastern Europe and problems unrecognized in America. This book is a groundbreaking assessment of the future of America.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This is Galbraith's analysis of the bind we Americans have put ourselves in since Reagan-Bush. His thesis is that we have become a "culture of contentment" wherein the majority of those who vote are socially and economically advantaged and will fight like tigers to maintain that advantage by voting against increased taxation that would reduce the federal deficit and respond to aching social problems. "The result is government that is accommodated not to reality or common need but to the beliefs of the contented." "Having enough, many wish for more." Greed has thus given us reduced income taxes for the rich, Michael Milken, the S&L scandal, a bloated military, etc. What is needed is a return to strong governmental regulation, reduced military spending, and a stringent progressive income tax. Nothing "would so contribute to social tranquility as some screams of anguish from the very affluent" that would provide more money to public education, welfare services, employment training, public housing, and libraries. "The question . . . is not what can be done but what will be paid." Essential for all academic and public libraries. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 12/91 . -- Jeffrey R. Herold, Bucyrus P.L., Ohio
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

Dour perspectives on the post-Reagan state of the union. As a practical matter, Galbraith (Balancing Acts, 1989, etc.) charges, America has become the land of the fat, dumb, and happy. Drawing largely on anecdotal evidence, he asserts that a bipartisan majority of the prosperous and complacent now rules the nation ``under the rick cloak of...a democracy in which the less fortunate do not participate,'' mainly because they do not vote. For all their apparent heterogeneity, the author argues, the affluent share certain self-serving sentiments and penchants--including a belief that financial success is invariably the reward of merit, a preference for short-run serenity, a selective view of the state's role in the expenditure of public monies, and a remarkable tolerance for great disparities in income distribution. According to Galbraith, the consequences of these convictions are varied and lamentable. He contends, for example, that the federal government accommodates the affluent with tax cuts, plus sizable outlays for Social Security, Medicare, farm-price supports, deposit insurance, and military programs--all at the expense of a desperately impoverished underclass as well as a crumbling infrastructure. Nor does Galbraith put much stock in trickle-down theory, noting at one point that, if a horse is amply fed with oats, some will pass through to the road for sparrows. He warns that Washington's indulgent acceptance of anti-intervention and laissez-faire doctrine has given free rein to the self-destructive tendencies of modern capitalism--and whether the ensuant declines can be arrested, much less reversed, remains an open question in his mind. At a minimum, though, Galbraith insists that, if the US is ever again to commit itself to human needs within the framework of an equitable and dynamic society, political leaders must take vigorous fiscal, legislative, and regulatory action. Thought-provoking points of view from an elder eminence who can still abash not only stick-in-the-mud conservatives but also limousine liberals. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 195 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (April 5, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395669197
• ISBN-13: 978-0395669198
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,397,805 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Kenneth Galbraith who was born in 1908, is the Paul M. Warburg Professor of Economics Emeritus at Harvard University and a past president of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is the distinguished author of thirty-one books spanning three decades, including The Affluent Society, The Good Society, and The Great Crash. He has been awarded honorary degrees from Harvard, Oxford, the University of Paris, and Moscow University, and in 1997 he was inducted into the Order of Canada and received the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award for Lifetime Achievement. In 2000, at a White House ceremony, he was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Prescient insights!, March 15, 2003

By 

JC in MN (minneapolis, mn United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Culture of Contentment (Paperback)

After reading this book I was struck with the profound nature of both the "Economic Accommodation I/II" and "Military Nexus I/II" chapters with regard to the current tax cut proposals and the impending war with Iraq. As Galbraith asserts in Economic Accommodation concerning questionable supply-side tax policy, "it must be emphasized, the required doctrine need not be the subject of serious empirical proof." When, oh when, are we going to realize as an overall society that the 80's boom was a deficit spending trick and the late 90's boom was the product of massive business productivity gains from global expansion after communism, computer/telecom technology and increasing consumer debt (not "the maestro"). As Galbraith points out, the long-term implications of these macro-economic policies are scary, but our culture seems incapable of thinking long-term. The Military Nexus section also makes you wonder about the "War on Terror". A conventional military war on an invisible (or nearly invisible) enemy - Hmmm? Excellent book!

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, July 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Culture of Contentment (Paperback)

This and all of Galbraith's books are classic. I noticed his books sometimes have gotten rather negative reviews. These seem to come from the same people who will be voting for Pat Buchanan for president. Galbraith is very much a Democrat. His ideas are "liberal". That does not stop him from being one of the most brilliant Economists of the 20th century. The joy of reading his books goes beyond just Gabraith's ideas. In reading his books one gets to know him. He is the sort of writer who lets the reader into his world. Some people may not like what he says. It is hard to take a look at yourself sometimes. Others will cherish his writing.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read it for yourselves!, February 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Culture of Contentment (Paperback)

It's was the lying, reactionary hot air of mindless regurgitating tools like "Kevalgyan" which prompted me to buy and read this book for myself. Galbraith clearly points out (with credible sources and accurate detail) how the immediate greed and the relentless bigger, better, faster drive for ever-higher profits by the economic elite system (which basically run the government and control the media) are planting the seeds of its own destruction. I implore all to read this book. Turn off the reactionary distortion and open your eyes!