Affluenza

How Over-Consumption Is Killing Us - And How We Can Fight Back

By: John de Graaf, David Wann, Thomas H. Naylor

Narrated by: Joe Barrett

Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's Summary

Affluenza, n. a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety, and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more. We tried to warn you! The 2008 economic collapse proved how resilient and dangerous affluenza can be. Now in its third edition, this audiobook can safely be called prophetic in showing how problems ranging from loneliness, endless working hours, and family conflict to rising debt, environmental pollution, and rampant commercialism are all symptoms of this global plague. The new edition traces the role overconsumption played in the Great Recession, discusses new ways to measure social health and success (such as the Gross Domestic Happiness index), and offers policy recommendations to make our society more simplicity-friendly. The underlying message isn’t to stop buying - it’s to remember, always, that the best things in life aren’t things.

©2014 John de Graaf, David Wann, Thomas H. Naylor (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Very interesting book

If you could sum up Affluenza in three words, what would they be?

Eye opening, factual, scary

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

Societal changes based on statistics.

What does Joe Barrett bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

An interesting voice that increases the readers intrigue.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I refer to it often in conversations.

Very religious

“People spend more time at malls than churches” who cares? Better to spend time buying clothes and food than praising something that likely does not exist. I consume little, but this book has too much religious bias.

Smacks of snark and condescension

The topic of the book is a good one, but the authors approached it unable to hide their holier-than-thou attitude and a sense of humor that grates rather than entertains.

Save the world and yourself

Everyone should read/listen to this book. Take notes. Change your mindset and change to world. Affluenza is killing us and the world slowly. Fight back with this realistic advice and clever approach. Easy listen with a mix of anecdotal and statistical information without boring the audience. Narrator is easy to listen to and his voice sounds wise which lends to the message.

A must read for Every American!

This book compiles all if not must reasons, of the why question. Why our society is decaying, what is causing it all?. The answer is Affluenza!!
This is a book that is as relevant as ever.

required reading. however, I loved it.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes I would recommend it to a friend. The author has a way with words so it was easy to listen to. I enjoyed the context. It got a little too political in part 3 though.

a penny saved is much more than a penny earned

simple is as simple does, a humble life does more than allow appreciation of privilege, it can make ya "rich"

Get to the subject!!!

40 min in and still giving background why they wrote the book.

I’m giving up and will watch the pbs special.

Important message

I agree with 90 percent of this book. The authors have diagnosed the sickness. It's an important message I've practiced for years. Unfortunately the cures they purpose are good on the individual level yet dangerous / poisonous at the government level. The left bias of the book is also distasteful in my opinion. Communism and socialism doesn't work with our situation. America is geographically different than the Netherlands and other places which are always claiming to be the "happiest". It's also worth noting that this is a country of Immigrants who by nature were more risk taking and energetic than those who remained behind. An example is the guy who stands all day on the town square in Mexico looking at the same thing day after day, as opposed to the illegal immigrants who are working their butts off doing construction here 12 hours a day. These are two different kinds of people. What makes each happy is very different.
The capitalistic system is / free market is flawed but head and shoulders better than any other system yet tried. The authors arguments for mandated vacation time is implemented in Brazil. It's also led to rampant unemployment. The more you promise the workers, the less employers are willing to give entry level jobs to people. I'd suggest listening to this with a bit of skepticism about their government cures. A better book which makes the same points much better and isn't political is the book "tribe" by Sebastian Junger.

Great title but not a great follow through

I've always wanted to read this book and when I finally pressed play I kept skipping through chapters trying to find the part that wasn't completely obvious. I ended up skipping through the whole book. I feel like most people reading this book already believe that consumerism is an issue but the book seems primarily concerned with proving its right to be written rather than offering an uncluttered history of consumer culture and ways to fight it.

interesting, thought provoking and inspiring!

i really hope some polititians are reading/ listening to books like this, so many great ideas to help get us out of this mess we are in . while there is a lot we can do as individuals, i believe much change will need to come in the form of new legislation. it's told from an American perspective, but much of the subject matter is universal so still worth a listen wherever you are from.