Machine generated contents note: ˙ūTABLE OF CONTENTS -- Chapter 1 Introduction: Plutocracy and Mob Rule 3 -- I. THE PSYCHOLOGY AND ECONOMICS OF MOTIVATION 13 -- Chapter 2 Between Strain and Boredom 15 -- Arousal 16 Personality 25 Arousal Reduction 28 -- Chapter 3 The Pursuit of Novelty 31 -- Physical Stimulation 31 Mental Stimulation 32 Some of the Evidence 36 Threat 40 -- Measurement 42 -- Attention 44 -- Redundancy 46 -- Signs and Supersigns 52 Uncertainty 56 -- Chapter 4 Comfort Versus Pleasure 59 -- The Seduction of Pleasure 63 The Seduction of Comfort 70 -- Free Choice Between Comfort and Pleasure 75 -- Comfort and Stimulation 78 -- Chapter 5 Enter Economics 80 -- Self-sufficiency 81 Mutual Stimulation 82 -- xvi Table of Contents -- Market Goods and Services 84 -- External Benefits and External Nuisances 85 Non-market Goods and Services 86 -- Work as Self-stimulation 89 -- The Importance of the Economic Product 102 -- Chapter 6 Necessities and Comforts 106 -- Necessities and Luxuries 107 -- Defensive and Creative Products 108 Some of the Comforts 112 -- The Comfort of Belonging 114 -- The Comfort of Being Useful 120 -- The Comfort of Sticking to Our Habits 124 What It Means To Become Spoiled 131 -- Chapter 7 Income and Happiness 133 -- "Rankhappiness" 134 -- Whatever Made Us Believe Income Yields Happiness? 140 -- II. THE AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE 147 -- Chapter 8 Is Our Life Too Good? 149 -- The Economy of Effort 154 -- The Economy of Time 161 -- The Purchase of Health 165 -- The Economy of Care and Bother 170 -- Chapter 9 Is It Too Dull? 182 -- Food 182 -- Vacations 190 Company 195 A Conflict 197 -- Chapter 10 Our Puritan Ghost 204 -- The Moral Superiority of Production and Money-making 206 The Neglect of Housekeeping 212 Puritan Intolerance 215 -- Table of Contents xvii -- Chapter 11 Our Disdain for Culture 224 -- The Meaning of Culture 226 -- The Puritan Attitude Toward Culture 228 Production Skills versus Consumption Skills 229 The Rational Bias Against Culture 230 -- Skilled versus Unskilled Stimulus Enjoyment 232 The Art of Conversation 236 -- What Do You Know? 239 -- Chapter 12 What's Wrong with Mass Production? 248 -- The Monotony of Products 249 The Banalization of Art 258 -- Chapter 13 What's Wrong with Specialization? 264 -- The Decline of the Generalist 268 -- Producers' Preference 273 Artists' Preference 275 Do-it-yourself 278 -- Where Do We Stand? 282 -- Notes 285 Name Index 303 Subject Index 306.