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The Joyless Economy: The Psychology of Human Satisfaction
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Product Description
Product Description
Originally published in 1976, this classic work helped to establish the legitimacy of understanding economic behaviour in psychological terms. Its central theme was that, despite the economic abundance that Americans enjoyed in the mid-twentieth century, they were at heart dissatisfied with much of their lives. Mainstream economics could not account for this kind of reaction and Scitovsky sought to explain it in theories that combined economics with psychology. Scitovsky has revised the last chapter and added a new chapter dealing with some contemporary aspects. In addition, Robert Frank, author of Choosing the Right Pond (OUP, 1985) has written a foreword.
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First Sentence
The middle of the twentieth century may well turn out to have been the high point of our national existence. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
The middle of the twentieth century may well turn out to have been the high point of our national existence. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
The puritan economy
2 Jan 2005
Format:Paperback
This book is must for all people who want to challenge the current free market dogma. Scitovsky shows that economic practices are aspects of one's culture: people in different countries spend their money very differently. These spending patterns are not based on the amount of income but on what is important to them. Thus Europeans with less income than Americans spend more of their income on fresh fruit and other foods, as well as on entertainent. Americans may buy bigger, but Europeans buy better. An Americam will boast about how much something cost, while a European will boast about how much they saved.
By showing that economics is based on culture, the whole concept of economics as a value free science gets undermined.
And, the book is readable for the non professional.
By showing that economics is based on culture, the whole concept of economics as a value free science gets undermined.
And, the book is readable for the non professional.
7 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Excessive Stimulation or Excessive Comfort?
5 Aug 1999
Format:Hardcover
This bifurcated question lies at the core of this excellent classic. The assumption that all choice is rational, that rationality choses freedom apriori, and freedom is its own intrinsic good has been the foundation of contemporary economics and liberal political theory for more than a century? This book challenges this and other assumptions, demonstrating that the true human "need" is not for freedom in itself, but instrumentally, so that our choices to bring about the right mixture of stimulation in our lives is balanced by an appropriate dose of comfort. Too much stimulation produces pain, too much comfort produces boredom, the excess of which lies outside the "mean."
This book goes beyond challenging our most basic presumptions; it argues coherently, cohesively, and cogently that the summa bonum of human life is not merely choice, but the right choices that balance our conflicting desires for something "new" with our desire for "stability." Most theories gravitate toward one extreme or the other; Scitovsky demonstrates the Aristotlean "mean."
Sadly, this book is only available in hardback at and is very pricey. Not that this book isn't worth the high cost Oxford Press demands, rather that it will unfortunately limit widespread access to this treasure. For those wanting a preview of this book's contents, see "Critical Review" Vol 10, No.4.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
A classic, provocative ideas
26 Sep 1998
Format:Hardcover
"The Joyless Economy" is a classic attempt to assess the postulates of neoclassical economics (the sort of economics taught in schools and universities!) in terms of evidence about human behaviour from Behavioural Psychology.
Definitely worth a read, particularly if you have reservations about the neoclassical orthodoxy!
From a technical economic viewpoint, he fails to make his case forcefully enough to convince orthodox economists on their own turf, but that is to take nothing away from the strength and worth of the ideas.
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