John Galbraith The Dependence Effect Summary

In “The Dependence Effect”, John Kenneth Galbraith makes the argument that people have wants that are created by the production of goods. The production of goods is what creates want because people are constantly striving to find ways to improve their lives so that they can live easy and comfortable lives. The luxury items people own in life aren’t needed but people want them because they see other people own these items and think about how much easier their life would be if they owned that item. The dependence effect is just a simple way to explain how people are trying to own new items only because they were produced and not because they actually need the item. This effect creates a never ending cycle of want and waste as people replace their old items for the latest ones. In “The Dependence Effect”, Galbraith makes the argument that people want what they don’t need due to production and throughout time …show more content…
Although people often have functioning materials they still want more than that; people strive to have the best of the best when it comes to materials. In “Waste”, Berry said: “It is the fault of an economy that is wasteful from top to bottom—a symbiosis of an unlimited greed at the top and a lazy, passive, and self-indulgent consumptiveness at the bottom—and all of us are involved in it.” (Wendell Berry, pg. 485-486). People want new materials that make their lives easier, and the production of new materials create a never ending cycle of waste. Berry shows that although people could live without the new materials but they are forced to get them to replace their old materials after they become outdated or break. “Waste” is an excellent example to how people rely on new materials to stay comfortable but if the goods hadn’t been produced then people would always be trying to replace their