College of Business Administration

Seminar in Business and the Good Society

Discussion Questions for April 30, 1998:

The Good Society (Galbraith)

Facilitated by: Kamal Scott and Kristi Perea

1. The author talks about how unemployment has become a way to stabilize prices, while inflation is the central threat to good economic performance. Despite this, he argues that unemployment is more damaging to the good society because it primarily affects the poor while inflation usually affects the rich. Do you agree with this assumption?

2. The author believes that today's market economy focuses almost completely on the short-term and not enough on the long-term, especially in regards to the environment. Should we take care of protecting the future at the cost of the present day? How do we measure and compare the costs and benefits?

3. When it comes to distribution of income in a good society, should there be a progressive tax as the author suggests, or would this unfairly punish those who have worked hard to become wealthy?

4. The author expresses the view that Americans do not mind being in debt (via the deficit) for the military, but often object to helping the poor at the cost of the deficit. In the good society is government necessary to help those in need? What role should the business enterprise play in helping the poor, if any?

5. The author makes the point that trade union membership has declined of late and that this trend needs to reverse itself. He feels that worker organization is a major civilizing factor in modern economic life. Do you agree that unions should be an integral part of the good society?

6. How, if at all, should corporations be restricted for social or moral reasons? For example, if cigarette smoke is known to be a problem that can cause death, even in non-smokers, what solutions exist? Is attempting to decrease their sales through special taxes, etc. an adequate solution or should we just ban the product? In the good society is it necessary to regulate companies?

7. In our good society, should there be limited (legal) migration to the United States for the purpose of filling those jobs that are held to be undesirable to most Americans? Would this be a better or worse alternative to the illegal immigration that is now used to fill these jobs?

8. The following statement is used by the author to strengthen his case that education needs to be a priority not only in our country but in the world as a whole: "in this world there is no literate population that is poor, no illiterate population that is not." Why should U.S. corporations be concerned with the educational standards in foreign countries?

Return to Professor Dunn's home page.