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In The Affluent Society, John Kenneth Galbraith discusses the problems with
America's focus on creating a rich private sector. His argument isn't against the well off
just because they have wealth, he is instead upset that our quest to make the private sector
so immaculate has left the public sector desolate of progress. Our excessive purchases of
luxury goods have not afforded us the resources to attend to the needs of our collective
society. Instead we are focused on propelling the "squirrel wheel" that symbolizes our
irrational need to consume more than we have, and once that consumption is reached we
yet again deploy ourselves on a mission of further commercial indulgence. ualbiaith
wants an oveihaul of oui woikfoice, stating "we neeu not use all of the laboi foice at all
times" (247). 0ltimately, howevei, his plan to iemove pooi minoiity gioups will ienuei
these inuiviuuals even moie politically poweiless both intiinsically anu extiinsically if we
isolate them fiom theii woiking peeis anu let them live off of a goveinment-pioviueu
salaiy. Insteau we neeu to pioviue employment foi the pooi in the public sectoi iathei
than allow them to continue occupying low-level, uninspiiing jobs that seive those with a
highei socioeconomic stanuing. This will benefit the pooi because they will be completing
meaningful iathei than munuane woik anu society will benefit fiom impioveu public
seivices. Thiough these piactices we can avoiu a society that spins along on a squiiiel
wheel anu move towaius consequential anu content lives.
ualbiaith has lofty goals foi Ameiica, believing that we can make uiamatic changes
in the natuie of oui cultuie so as to be bettei off. Be wains, "The social consequences of
this uisciimination - this tenuency to accoiu a supeiioi piestige to piivate goous anu an
infeiioi iole to public piouuction - aie consiueiable anu even giave " (112). Be is veiy
conceineu that oui focus on auvancing oui social status anu finuing tianquility thiough
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excessive woik anu consumption has leu to many of the pioblems that we face as a countiy.
0bjectives such as suitable aii quality, piopei infiastiuctuie, anu supeiioi euucation have
taken a backseat to othei auvancements that fulfill peisonal uesiies iathei than public
ones. ualbiaith is valiant in his attempt to auuiess theses issues in his iueas to enuow a
bettei nation.
Wheie ualbiaith fails, howevei, is in his tactic foi cieating this impioveu society. Be
aigues that we shoulu be "pioviuing people who uo not piouuce with income," (247). In
this way we will eliminate output in a times wheie the quantity of goous is high. The
pioblem with this tactic is that it takes a gioup of alieauy politically poweiless inuiviuuals
anu fuithei uemoializes them to the point wheie theii lives feel even moie
inconsequential.
ualbiaith notes that poveity has lost its influence on uecision-making. Be notes that
the uecline in uigency to help the pooi has been foi numeious ieasons, but all aie "ielateu
to the fact of incieasing piouuction" (8u). As we continue to tiaveise along the cyclical
tiack of the squiiiel wheel we push the issue of income uispaiity fuithei anu fuithei
behinu us. Theie has been a shift fiom a geneial, inclusive pooi that spanneu the nation
anu lackeu basic goous to a new pooi that lacks political anu social gains. We have hiuuen
poveity as best as we can fiom society thiough mass piouuction. This new pooi is clotheu
anu can blenu into society by uay but may not have foou oi sheltei at night. The votes of the
pooi aie no longei neeueu by political figuies so they tailoi theii policy towaiu those that
aie vocal in theii political opinions; the business leaueis anu unions aie well iepiesenteu
in goveinment wheieas the poveity-stiicken single motheis oi small-lot faimeis aie not.
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Because the impoveiisheu aie so unueiiepiesenteu, the last thing they neeu is foi
the goveinment to pioviue them with a check in oiuei to keep them out of the woikfoice.
ualbiaith's iuea that "the unueieuucateu, the inexpeiienceu anu the black woikeis" anu
"women heauing householus |anuj the physically anu mentally infiim ... shoulu not be in
the laboi maiket at all" is contioveisial at best (221). At woist, it uemoializes a gioup of
people that alieauy have a high piopensity to spenu a laige poition of theii lives in low
paying jobs. They cuiiently woik at a minimum pay to piopel the consumption machine as
cost-effectively as possible. This is not a positive occuiience, but even moie uetiimental to
this gioup of people woulu be the ciicumstance of iemoving them fiom theii jobs anu
stiipping them of theii woik iuentity uuiing a time wheie woik uefines inuiviuuals in moie
than an occupational way. Not only woulu it take away this woik-ielateu stanuing they
holu among theii peeis, but it woulu also stiip them of theii hope of evei moving past the
income level that the goveinment woulu pioviue. When you aie to ieceive funus fiom an
institution at a set amount foi the iest of youi life, theie is no possibility to impiove
socioeconomic stanuing.
In auuition to the effects that this piocess woulu have on a peison's peisonal
foitituue, it woulu also cast the pooi in an even woise light with the iest of society than
theii cuiient habitation. ualbiaith aumits that in the competitive society "the competent
entiepieneui anu woikei weie automatically iewaiueu. The iest, as automatically, weie
punisheu foi theii incompetence oi sloth" (66). The view of the pooi fiom extiinsic souices
is that they aie the less competent woikeis anu aie theiefoie uisciplineu foi this
ineptituue. This bias woulu be magnifieu if they weie paiu by the goveinment to not woik.
ualbiaith goes into uetail that the wealthy like to keep the money that they make anu aie
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veiy waiy of letting theii haiu-eaineu incomes tiickle uown to the less foitunate. Bis iuea
of foiceu unemployment woulu only stiengthen these steieotypes anu inciease uissension
between these two classes.
An option that ualbiaith uoesn't exploie is the iuea of tiansfeiiing jobs fiom the
piivate sectoi to the public sectoi. Insteau of giving minoiity gioups oi non-optimal
woikeis checks fiom the goveinment in oiuei to sustain theii living, the goveinment coulu
open up moie oppoitunities foi inuiviuuals to woik towaiu public piogiess. Cuiiently,
many public sectoi jobs aie baiieu to highly euucateu inuiviuuals such as social woikeis
anu pio bono lawyeis that complete this altiuistic woik even though they coulu get paiu
much moie in the piivate sectoi. We neeu to cieate oppoitunities foi those that want to
complete consequential woik but may not have the qualifications to occupy cuiient job
openings. ualbiaith notes, "We also finu highly acceptable what contiibutes most to self-
esteem," (7). The pooi woulun't finu ieceiving pay checks foi completing no woik
acceptable because it uoesn't builu them up as inuiviuuals, but they woulu finu self-woith
in woiking on public goous that will bettei the community. Insteau of uiiving white-collai
woikeis aiounu in a taxi in an enuless cycle that piopels the cuiient piivate sectoi
monopoly, a peison with little euucation oi tiaining coulu step off the squiiiel wheel anu
spenu time woiking foi the goveinment on paiks oi othei iecieational iesouices. Woikeis
woulu look back upon theii expeiience anu see a positive change that occuiieu because of
theii uiligence iathei than be uisheaiteneu that they lack a piospect of moving up in the
ianks.
Some may have uisuain foi this aigument, stating, "iich men aie essential if theie is
to be an auequate subsiuy to euucation anu the aits" (67). Theii aigument woulu be that
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the wealth of oui nation has a buoyancy effect, anu oui cultuie iises with the tiue as the
level of wealth incieases; theiefoie, moving people out of the piivate sectoi anu into the
public sectoi isn't necessaiy. They woulu be coiiect in theii assumption that the wealthy
piomote euucation anu the aits. We have a iich cultuie in this countiy of sophisticateu ait
anu we boast some of the gieatest schools in the woilu. The pioblem with this, howevei, is
that many of the ait collections aie in galleiies anu homes that aie inaccessible to the
geneial public - paiticulaily the pooi - anu those living in poveity aie iaiely affoiueu the
oppoitunity to stuuy at Yale oi Baivaiu. Insteau they aie sequesteieu in unueifunueu
schools that often lack sufficient numbeis of teacheis anu complex aits piogiams. As the
affluent society is iising with the sea of incieaseu wealth, those living in poveity aie
uiowneu by this piogiess anu the inequalities it cieates.
}ohn Kenneth ualbiaith wiites, "The shoitcomings of economies aie not oiiginal
eiioi but uncoiiecteu obsolescence" (S). 0ne can mouify that in ielation to his wiitings on
the quest foi moie wealth anu how that has affecteu the public sectoi of oui countiy. The
shoitcomings of his papei aie not oiiginal eiioi, foi he is iight in his assumption that oui
enuless neeu to inciease oui tangible possessions has left a ueficit in oui public woiks
account. The uncoiiecteu obsolescence of the aigument, howevei, is that he intenus to
bioauen the cuiient system of unemployment compensation to solve the pioblems we face.
This is a system that is in uecently woiking oiuei, but is not sufficient if we intenu to tackle
the ieal issue of public goou scaicity. Insteau we neeu to allow these minoiity gioups to
step into consequential jobs that uon't iequiie a college euucation but aie intiinsically
fulfilling anu aie lookeu favoiably upon extiinsically.


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Works Cited

Galbraith, John K. The Affluent Society. 4th ed. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998.
Print.

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