Affluenza

Note: this page needs a more suitable name, as it refers to more than just the book by the name Affluenza.

Affluenza is the title of a book by Clive Hamilton of the Australia Institute. The theme is that the increasing wealth of people has not resulted in substantial satisfaction, and people still consider that they are not wealthy.

Hamilton quotes a survey which found that 62% of Australians say they cannot afford to buy everything they really need. He says that "when we consider that Australia is one of the world's richest countries and that Australians today have incomes three times higher than in 1950, it is remarkable that so many people feel their incomes are inadequate" (p. 59).

Hamilton blames this on:

• adverstising which convinces us that we must have various products,
• politicians (including Australian Prime Minister John Howard) who refer to middle Australia as "battlers" and give middle-class welfare.
• wants having become needs (for the previous two reasons).

External links

• Blog comment at Pyjama Samsara

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