ABSTRACT
America had become an affluent society, but with all the abundance there was still something gravely wrong. Galbraith's analysis proceeded once more with a contrast between a competitive economy and a highly concentrated one. He again emphasized the insecurity inherent in a competitive society which no one but the economic theorist regarded with equanimity. In speaking of "modern want creation" Galbraith notes the direct relationship between a firm's expenditures on production and its expenditures on "synthesizing the desires" for that production. No American class is imbued with a strong tradition of social responsibility. It is very hard to have an adequate system of social security when the belief prevails that every man ought to look out for himself and the devil take the hindmost. Statistics notwithstanding, Galbraith's strength lay in the fact that he saw a direct connection between social imbalance and poverty.
