Pursuing Happiness

This text looks at the variety of goods and services that Americans have purchased in order to achieve happiness. The book portrays the consumer in a more reasonable light than critics of "materialism" have suggested, and shows their attempts to make the world a more pleasant, convenient place.

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Whether watching baseball or undergoing heart surgery, Americans have bought a variety of goods and services to achieve happiness. Here is a provocative look at what they have chosen to purchase. Stanley Lebergott maintains that the average consumer has behaved more reasonably than many distinguished critics of "materialism" have suggested. He sees consumers seeking to make an uncertain and often cruel world into a pleasanter and more convenient place--and, for the most part, succeeding. With refreshing common sense, he reminds us of what many "luxuries" have meant, especially for women: increased income since 1900 has been used largely to lighten the backbreaking labor once required by household chores.

Originally published in 1993.

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