More on Fred Hirsch’s[amazon_link id=”0415119588″ target=”_blank” ] Social Limits to Growth[/amazon_link].

[amazon_image id=”0415119588″ link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Social Limits to Growth[/amazon_image]

Hirsch has a chapter on J K Galbraith’s book [amazon_link id=”014013610X” target=”_blank” ]The Affluent Society[/amazon_link], with its famous description of ‘private affluence and public squalor’. Hirsch comments that Galbraith’s critique is apt but misses a key point in arguing that the problem is one of incorrect priorities, of insufficient attention and money directed to the public domain. [amazon_link id=”0415119588″ target=”_blank” ]Social Limits to Growth [/amazon_link]argues that there is a fundamental adding up problem in capitalist societies: the market excels at satisfying individual wants, but not all individuals can get what they want – by definition whenever you accept positional goods to be significant. Whether resources are allocated through the market or by the government is irrelevant. Moreover, attempting to satisfy all individuals’ wants through public spending sets taxation and expenditure on an ever-upward trajectory.

[amazon_image id=”014013610X” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]The Affluent Society (Penguin economics)[/amazon_image]