Characteristics of 1950s Society: The "Affluent Society"

What was the “Affluent Society” used for?

To sum up the fact that while on the surface it appeared that there was economic prosperity during the 1950s, not everybody was a part of it

Who was mainly able to enjoy the prosperity?

People of the white-middle class

Who continued to live in poverty?

Anyone who didn’t fit the white-middle class mold such as the elderly or immigrants

Who published the book “The Affluent Society”?

Harvard economist John Kenneth Gailbraith

When did “The Affluent Society” get published?

1959

What did Gailbraith’s book discuss?

America is going into a two-class state, fearing the US does not have the social and physical infrastructure to stop this disparity (these points have proven to be true in modern times)