Summary of The affluent society

The Affluent Society is a groundbreaking 1958 book written by economist and Harvard professor John Kenneth Galbraith and published by Houghton Mifflin. The book examines modern industrial society and argues that it has led to the creation of a new class of abundance, in which possessions, leisure, and security are plentiful. Galbraith examines the social, monetary, and emotional implications of this abundance, seeing it both as a blessing and a curse. He further contends that the availability of an excess of material goods has led to a dangerous focus on "economic growth" that has also created more social and economic inequality. Through a series of vignettes, he examines the changing nature of the affluent society and the associated problems, including a lack of opportunity, increasing poverty, consumerism and environmental degradation.