On Social Goods and Social Bads

Abstract

Social criticism, like ladies’ wear, has its fashions. In the thirties and forties the issue was unemployment, in the fifties it became inadequate growth, and in the mid-sixties there was poverty. More recently, critics have focused on the ‘system’s’ failure to meet social needs and to account for social costs. While private goods are increasingly abundant, public services are increasingly inadequate; and though production is ever rising, polluted air, crowded roads and decaying slums are costs which fail to be accounted for. Per capita GNP continues to rise, but the ‘quality of life’ is said to decline. What are the underlying issues, how justified is this concern, how does it relate to the earlier issues and what changes in economic or social organization may be needed to remedy the situation?