ABSTRACT
In the advanced countries themselves the yearly rate of growth is a subject of great interest: if high it redounds to the credit of the government, if low it affords an argument to the opposition. Such focusing of attention upon economic growth should lead to the acceleration of the process. When organizers of production have to relieve a situation of hunger, efficiency is the one and only virtue. Most economists, among whom the masters of the science, would deny that there is any real problem. The American economy was characterized after World War I by the great upsurge of the motor car and the movie, after World War II by the comparable upsurge of household equipment and the television. It is at least plausible that if the second set of goods had become available before the first, their home-binding influence would have color.
