Includes bibliographical references (pages 259-317) and index.

"This book charts the reactions of prominent American writers to the unprecedented prosperity of the decades following World War II. It begins with an examination of Lewis Mumford's wartime call for "democratic" consumption and concludes with an analysis of the origins of President Jimmy Carter's "malaise" speech of 1979. Between these bookends, Daniel Horowitz documents a broad range of competing views, each in its own way reflective of a deep-seated ambivalence toward consumer culture - a persistent but shifting tension between a commitment to self-restraint and the pursuit of personal satisfaction through the acquisition of commercial goods and experiences." "In his final chapter, Horowitz examines the writings of three leading intellectuals - Daniel Bell, Robert N. Bellah, and Christopher Lasch - whose views shaped President Carter's response to the energy crisis of the 1970s. An epilogue carries the story forward to the turn of the new century, when Americans found themselves grappling with the political and cultural implications of a new wave of prosperity."--Jacket.

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