Dismal Pleasures – letter
Dear Editor
‘Dismal’ Pleasures
George P. Brockway has been one of the most enjoyable writers in THE NEW LEADER lately. The installments of “The Dismal Science” demonstrate wit, erudition – not that I always agree with him – and a refreshing willingness to question the assumptions that lie behind the experts’ arguments.
Brockway’s appreciative comments on John Kenneth Galbraith, for example, were excellent. (“Rereading Galbraith,” NL, June 13). They reminded me of the wrangling that greeted the publication of The Affluent Society. Much of the controversy centered on Galbraith’s observations about advertising, about “the contriving of wants” in order to increase production.
Galbraith’s case is convincing, and yet even the people who agree with his conception of the role Madison Avenue plays in our economy continue to wrongly believe that consumer choices guide production. This myopia simply shows the need for more of the kind of illumination that is shed by Brockway’s columns.
Dayton, Ohio RONALD LAMBRETH
