The Affluent Society (Houghton Mifflin, 1958)

John Kenneth Galbraith · c. 1958

John Kenneth Galbraith did not write this page.

Every claim below was made in this book, quoted word for word and numbered in the order the piece makes them, so you can read it there rather than take our word for it. The book prints chapter headings its extracted text does not preserve, so the claims below are in the book's order but not grouped. The sentence above each quote is our reading of the claim, not their wording. Each quote was checked against a stored copy of the page at build time; where the two differ, the quote is the fact.

Our reading
Because familiarity makes ideas acceptable, accepted ideas are very stable

Their wordsBecause familiarity is such an important test of acceptability, the acceptable ideas have great stability.
Our reading
The conventional wisdom is overturned by the march of events, not by ideas

Their wordsThe enemy of the conventional wisdom is not ideas but the march of events.
Our reading
In an affluent society there is no useful line between luxuries and necessities

Their wordsIn the affluent society no useful distinction can be made between luxuries and necessaries.
Our reading
As a society grows richer, the process of satisfying wants increasingly creates them

Their wordsAs a society becomes increasingly affluent, wants are increasingly created by the process by which they are satisfied.

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