Affluenza

Affluenza is a portmanteau word formed by the contraction of affluence and influenza. Sources define this term as follows:-

affluenza, n. a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more. (DeGraff, 2002)

affluenza, n. 1. The bloated, sluggish and unfulfilled feeling that results from efforts to keep up with the Joneses. 2. An epidemic of stress, overwork, waste and indebtedness caused by dogged pursuit of the American Dream. 3. An unsustainable addiction to economic growth. (PBS)

References

• Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic, John DeGraff, David Wann & Thomas H. Naylor, ISBN 1576751996
• The Circle of Simplicity, Cecile Andrews, ISBN 0060928727
• Voluntary Simplicity, Duane Elgin, ISBN 0688121195

See also

• Anti-consumerism
• Consumerism
• Materialism
• Voluntary simplicity

External links

• Adbusters – "culture jamming"
• PBS Show: Affluenza
• PBS Show: Escape From Affluenza
• Overcoming Consumerism