The New Industrial State

The 1950s is considered an era of American prosperity. There were huge advancements in technology, which boosted and changed the economy system. The state was  considered responsible for minimising unemployment by maintaining  demand within the economy.
It follows that advanced technology leads to an increase in bureaucratic planning.  Planning is the core of the industrial system as it is determines whether a production will exist  in the long run or not. This planning is economically and technologically motivated.  In order to ensure a profit, integration, production and distribution must be achieved and mastered.
The Keynesian system was in place, and neo classical economics was a thing of the past. However, the Keynesian consensus was attacked from both the left and the right, for being a “managed” society and therefore a “soft” form of totalitarianism.
Written in 1967, John Kenneth Galbraith's “ The New Industrial State” explores the effect large corporations will have on the state.
According to him, two thirds of economic activity is controlled by the techno-structure  rather than shareholders. Techno-structure is the collective term for all those involved in group decision-making and the organisation they form.
Their aim is to survive, grow (this is measured in sales volumes) master  technical skill  and secure an  increased rate of dividends. The leadership of these organisations are  run predominantly  by lawyers (Max Weber- legalistic power of bureaucratic legitimacy . They also predominate in political bureaucracy (Obama), and via the same political parties system to the newspapers and television. Examples include Cameron, Murdoch and Berlusconi. These people are the fabric of the leadership level of society and share the same training and philosophical outlook. They too are cogs in a machine. They do not act to maximise profit but to maintain the organisation and secure further expansion. This leads to problems such as inflation, destruction of profitability and Keynesian military.
 The purpose of The New Industrial state was not to catalyse a political movement, but rather to describe the state of the economy, and to provide an understanding of a world dominated by industrial firms, and the techno-structure  According to Galbraith, this system is essentially nihilistic, pragmatic, violent (nuclear weapons, military spending), decadent and doomed.