Affluent Society: Analysis of Racial Discrimination

This essay analyzes the concept of the 'Affluent Society' in post-war America, highlighting the paradox of widespread prosperity alongside significant inequality, particularly racial discrimination. The essay examines how the economic boom primarily benefited the white middle class, while people of color faced systemic marginalization in housing and other areas. It explores the role of suburbanization, the actions of private institutions, and the complicity of the white population in perpetuating racial segregation and limiting opportunities for people of color. The essay references the works of Eric Foner to illustrate the challenges faced by the black population and the objectives of the early civil rights movement, which aimed to achieve equal rights and end discriminatory practices. The essay highlights the systemic nature of racial discrimination and its impact on the social and economic landscape of the United States during this period.

Running head: AN AFFLUENT SOCIETY
AN AFFLUENT SOCIETY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1AN AFFLUENT SOCIETY
The paradox of the ‘Affluent Society’ refers to the great inequality among the masses
which prevailed despite the economic boom that had brought about prosperity in the post war
economy of the United States of America. On one hand there was an unprecedented rise of the
middle class who had immense amount of purchasing power who had imbibed the culture of
consumerism in them, while another section of the society was deprived of all the benefits of the
developments that had taken place and racialism was one of the reasons behind the incongruent
distribution of the benefits of the economic boom, which was manifested in the overwhelming
majority of the white population in the sub-urban neighbourhoods with the people of colour
forming a miniscule minority.
‘The move to the suburbs also promoted Americanization, cutting residents off from
urban ethnic communities and bringing them fully into the world of mass consumption. But if the
suburbs offered a new site for the enjoyment of American freedom, they retained at least one
familiar characteristic- rigid racial boundaries (Foner, 24).’
This particular quotation shows that the urban centers were the focal point if
discrimination against the people of colour who were categorically discriminated against and
were subjected to marginalization. Ghettoization of the black communities and the jeopardization
of their prospects of rising up the social ladder was something in which the government
decisions and the private enterprises, namely the real estate developers, the financial institutions
as well as the residents were complicit. Despite the decision of the Supreme Court of outlawing
all forms of racialism, the federal financial institutions had tried to create obstacles in the path of
resale of apartments to the people of colour. Not just the institutions, but also the general public
had expressed an antithetical attitude towards having a person of colour in their neighbourhood.
Thus there was a symbiotic relationship between the general white population and the

2AN AFFLUENT SOCIETY
institutions of the United States of America in marginalization of the people of colour to the
empoverished quarters of the nation.
“If we sell one house to a Negro family,” Levitt explained, “then 90 or 95 percent of our
white customers will not buy into the community (Foner, 25).”
This particular quotation from the chosen text proves that the nexus between the section
of the population comprising majorly of the White skinned people and the private institutions
which were complicit in making creating more adversities or for the people of colour. Thus the
civil rights movement was thus aimed at eliminating such discriminations against the people of
colour and also gaining equal rights for the people of colour at par with the white ones as the
blacks paid equal amount of taxes and their contribution in the development of the nation were
no less than the majority community. Hence the objective of the early civil rights movements
was to gain equal rights for the people of colour and to put an end to the discrimination that they
faced.

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References
Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty! An American History: Seagull Fourth Edition. Vol. 1. WW Norton
& Company, 2013.