During the Socratic Seminars on Tuesday, we discussed a few pages of Henry Luce’s book, The Dangerous Age of Abundance. There were some issues that we were stuck on or could have dug deeper into, including:

1. His quotes like: “But we are rich – so now what?  Get richer – and then what?”

“Can we go on expanding and expanding to a GNP of a trillion dollars (beat that in 1960s, @ $14.5 trillion last year) and to a world population of 5-10 billion people (we’re at 7 billion)?  Can we go on getting bigger and bigger and still remain in any joyful sense human and free?”

“The charge now is that Free Enterprise spreads too much of the wrong kind of wealth and thereby corrupts and debases.”

“Our problems are problems not of failure but of success.”

“Science sets up an enormous threat to freedom because it has given us the power – and the obligation – to do things on a huge scale.  The conditions of the Atomic Age make possible – and require – vast organization.”

2. Luce’s criticism of Galbraith’s critiques of American capitalism – a. we make too much useless stuff; b. we’ve become slaves to the producer economy.

3. Luce’s recommendations for improving the American corporations (listed on the last page of the handout).

Pick one of the three topics and further expound on it (if you choose #1, do at least 3 quotes).

Due Friday before class, 5/11/12 (revised due date).  300 words minimum.  

 

  Wikipedia page on Henry Luce – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Luce

The Henry Luce Foundation – http://www.hluce.org/home.aspx

PBS article on Henry Luce  – http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/henry-luce/henry-r-luce-and-the-rise-of-the-american-news-media/650/