Title: The challenge of affluence : self-control and well-being in the United States and Britain since 1950 /
Authors: Offer, Avner.
Publisher: Oxford University Press,
Year: 2006
Subjects: Wealth Social aspects United States.; Wealth Social aspects Great Britain.; Social values United States; Social values Great Britain.; Quality of life United States; Quality of life Great Britain.
Abstract: "Avner Offer argues that a sense of well-being has lagged behind affluence in these societies because they present an environment in which consistent choices are difficult to achieve and in which the capacity for personal and social commitment is undermined by the flow of novelty. His approach draws on economics and social science, makes use of the latest cognitive research, and provides a detailed and reasoned critique of modern consumer society, especially the assumption that freedom of choice necessarily maximizes individual and social well-being."--Jacket.
Contents: I: Evaluating affluence -- Economic welfare measurement and human well-being -- Passions and interests: self-control and well-being -- Choice: myopic and rational -- The economy of regard -- II: In the market place -- The mask of intimacy: advertising and the quality of life -- Body weight and self-control -- Household appliances and the use of time -- The American automobile frenzy of the 1950s -- Driving prudently: American and European -- III: Self and others -- Affluence and the pursuit of status -- Inequality hurts -- All you need is love? Mating since the 1950s -- Women and children last: the retreat from commitment.