The Affluent Society by John Kenneth Galbraith

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The Affluent Society was written in 1958. A little information about Professor Galbraith, he was a Harvard economics professor. Served on many US president’s staffs as well as he were great writer. A lot of his theory is based on Keynesian economics. This book, The Affluent Society, is part of a trilogy. The book tackles the status of the US post World War II. It gives great insight into the political, economical as well as pop culture during the time. Each one of those areas is linked together to show the wealth gap that was beginning, that is now a huge problem in our society today. Instead of breaking down the book chapter by chapter, I would like to break down the book into vital areas that make the book what it is. It is extremely interesting how genius Prof. Galbraith is. To be able to research and connect the dots of these extreme and what seems “non relatable” subjects and make them relate in order convey a problem for us to see. Unfortunately, our country did not look at this serious enough. The book also shows a great deal of progress our country made in such little time. In the matter of a decade, the technical, social and political ups and downs of our society started this snowball effect that has now turned into modern day America.
One of the first major themes of the book deals with civil rights. The events that happen during this decade are what lead to the civil rights movement of the early 1960’s. Which eventually turned into the Civil Rights Act of 1965. When most people think about the civil rights, most people think of Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail, SLLC etc.
One thing The Affluent Society points out, this also gave rights to women. Even though the Act was passed, it took time to put the...

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...lows for the economy to flow and move product better, literally. His ideas on investing on education are also another great idea. Professor Galbraith is genius enough to put together these areas and show a realistic problem. Books like these were unheard of at the time. To reach down and grab at these facts and make them work is pretty awesome. Now I think maybe some of his personal beliefs are showing a negative light on some areas, but at least he is putting light to the problem. This book does a good job of showing the beginnings of the wealth gap that is now today. I don’t think Professor Galbraith had any idea that these theories would stand today. One has to approve the remarkable intelligence the man has, to point out these different topics in order to show a greater problem. His idea on investing in the highway system is probably one of my favorite ideas.

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