Affluenza

“Affluenza” refers to a blending of two terms, affluence and influenza, and is used by critics of consumerism who consider the costs of ownership of material wealth to far outweigh the benefits. The term was first introduced in a documentary by the same name by John de Graf in 1997 for KCTS in Seattle, Washington, and Oregon Public Broadcasting. Later, de Graf, David Wann, and Thomas H. Taylor, in their book Affluenza: The All Consuming Epidemic, defined the term as “a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more.” It is caused by the epidemic of stress, overwork, waste, and indebtedness caused by the pursuit of a utopian dream of living the good life and ...