The new industrial state
With searing wit and incisive commentary, John Kenneth Galbraith redefined America's perception of itself in The New Industrial State, one of his landmark works. The United States is no longer a free-enterprise society, Galbraith argues, but a structured state controlled by the largest companies. Advertising is the means by which these companies manage demand and create consumer "need" where none previously existed. Multinational corporations are the continuation of this power system on an international level. The goal of these companies is not the betterment of society, but immortality through an uninterrupted stream of earnings. First published in 1967, The New Industrial State continues to resonate today.
Stats for nerds
6recommend
15mentions
11people
2010–2024years
47% recommend53% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- An interesting read is Galbraith's "The New Industrial State" which lays out an argument that the US is also a planned economy, just with non-state planners. It came out before the 80s so things have changed from the era of corporate conglomerates in the US, but the underlying nature of advertising as a mechanism for generating the demand that is allowing companies to continue to convert resources into sellable products I think is spot on.
- It's somewhat dated, but Galbraith's _The New Industrial State_ has a lot of interesting insight into the role of large corporations in economic planning. People sometimes criticize the book because the large corporations (GM, GE, etc.) the book talks about are less central to the economy now, but I don't think that contradicts the book's message at all.
- I will resist the urge to tell you what NOT to read and merely recommend a few favorites:
1. I am a big fan of John Kenneth Galbraith, who writes very clearly about a few things. I recommend both "The New Industrial State" and especially "The Affluent Society", where he argues that economics is insufficient to deal with post-scarcity.
2. Deirdre McCloskey's "If You're So Smart" is a great skewering of the blinkered nature of economic inquiry. Much of what is wrong with economics is what is wrong with scientific inquiry generally (being stuck in a formalism, confusing their models with reality); this is an excellent criticism.
3. Anything by Ha-Joon Chang. He writes intelligently about development and globalization; he is unorthodox in his economic practice, and his arguments are simple and drawn from history. There are a lot of "My god, it's full of stars!" moments in his work.
4. Still looking...
- John Kenneth Galbraith most famous book was The Affluent Society. If you don't want to be a slave to fashion, read Robert Reich's all-time favorite book on economics, The New Industrial State.
- John Kenneth Galbraith wrote with a great deal of detail and eloquence about what kind of conditions might inspire corporations not to maximize profit, and how those kinds of decisions actually contribute to the perpetuation and success of said corporations. The main book to read is The New Industrial State. He wrote it in the '60s when conditions were very different, but the fundamental principles remain valid.
- "Parkinson's Law" by C. Northcote Parkinson
"The New Industrial State" by J.K. Galbraith
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