The Culture of Contentment

Download or read book The Culture of Contentment written by John Kenneth Galbraith and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2017-08-29 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The world has become increasingly separated into the haves and have-nots. In The Culture of Contentment, renowned economist John Kenneth Galbraith shows how a contented class—not the privileged few but the socially and economically advantaged majority—defend their comfortable status at a cost. Middle-class voting against regulation and increased taxation that would remedy pressing social ills has created a culture of immediate gratification, leading to complacency and hampering long-term progress. Only economic disaster, military action, or the eruption of an angry underclass seem capable of changing the status quo. A groundbreaking critique, The Culture of Contentment shows how the complacent majority captures the political process and determines economic policy.