The Affluent Society

by John Kenneth Galbraith

In the last seventy-five years, the power and prestige of the United States government have increased. If only by the process of division, this diminished the prestige of the power accruing to private wealth. But, in addition, it also meant some surrender of authority to Washington. Furthermore, trade unions invaded the power of the entrepreneur from another quarter. But most important, the professional manager or executive took away from the man of wealth the power that is implicit in running a business. Seventy-five years ago Morgan, Rockefeller, Hill, Harriman and the others were the undisputed masters of the business concerns they owned, or it was indisputably in their power to become so. Their sons and grandsons still have the wealth, but with rare exceptions the power implicit in the running of the firm has passed to professionals.8 When the rich were not only rich but had the power that went with active direction of corporate enterprise, it is obvious that wealth had more perquisites than now. For the same reasons, it stirred more antagonism. J. P. Morgan answered not only for his personal wealth but also for the behavior of the United States Steel Corporation which he had put together and which ultimately he controlled. As a man of corporate power, he was also exceedingly visible. Today no sins of similar corporations are visited on their owners, for the latter do not manage the company and almost no one knows who they are. When the power that went with active busi...