I’ve been re-reading John Kenneth Galbraith’s “The Affluent Society” recently. Originally published in 1958, but some sections were updated by Galbraith in 1998

I’ve been re-reading John Kenneth Galbraith’s “The Affluent Society” recently. Originally published in 1958, but some sections were updated by Galbraith in 1998. Here are some interesting and relevant paragraphs: "The public response to inflation is interesting. It is widely deplored and condemned. Politicians of both parties have taken a strong position against it. Conservatives, anciently the self-designated custodians of the 'honest dollar,' have continued to stress this tenet of their faith. Businessmen, bankers, insurance executives and nearly every type of professional public spokesman at one time or another have warned of the dangers of continued inflation. Meanwhile, liberals have deplored failure to take effective action while often proposing none themselves. Next only to the virtues of competition, there is nothing on which the conventional wisdom is more completely agreed than on the importance of stable prices. Yet this conviction leads to remarkably little effort and, indeed, to remarkably few suggestions for specific action. Where inflation is concerned, nearly everyone finds it convenient to confine himself to conversation. All branches of the conventional wisdom are equally agreed on the undesirability of remedies that are effective. [...] Monetary policy [that is: a rate increase at the Fed] collides with the process of consumer-demand creation and, since it works on business investment, is in conflict with our emphasis on growth. It is also ineffectual, discriminatory and, possibly, dangerous. Fiscal policy [that is: gov’t taxation to reduce the money supply] is sharply at odds with the commitment to a level of output that ensures full employment and the accompanying economic security. Direct controls [that is: price controls on things like oil/gas], which in theory might reconcile high employment with price stability, are under a heavy ideological cloud. [...] ... [1998 update from Galbraith:] The United States has seen some years of relatively low unemployment and very mild inflation, though no diminished fear thereof. The new situation reflects the declining power of unions and the growing importance of industries -- consumer services, entertainment, the arts, professions and much advanced technology -- where they are absent or unimportant. Here the wage/price interaction and spiral is not a factor. As often in economic life, change in controlling circumstances has brought appreciable economic change, how permanent one does not know."