George Will on John Kenneth Galbraith’s “The Affluent Society”

In commenting on his passing this week, George Will presents a venerable argument against John Kenneth Galbraith’s “The Affluent Society”:

 

“The Affluent Society” was the canonical text of modern liberalism’s disparagement of the competence of the average American.  This liberalism — the belief that people are manipulable dolts who need to be protected by their liberal betters from exposure to “too much” advertising — is one rationale for McCain-Feingold.  That law regulating campaigns embodies the political class’s belief that it knows just the right amount of permissible political speech.