After WWII why did the economy prosper and what role did consumerism play in the 1950s? After WWII many economists predicted a recession in the American economy. It is easy to do so when at the peak of post war unemployment in March 1946 2.7 million searched for work. In 1945 people were laid off from their jobs. However, in 1945 the US entered one of its longest, steadiest, periods of growth and prosperity (Norton 829). How could this be? With many new developments affecting the United States social and economic behavior, the wealth of the nation burgeoned. It is the extreme wealth of this society which supports and creates consumerism, the Americans [increased] appetite for goods and services (Norton 832). The automobile, television and rising personal income contributed to enhanced consumerism. The American economy in the 1950s is simply defined by increased output and increased demand. The primary economist of the 1950s was John Kenneth Galbraith. According to Galbraiths The Affluent Society, the economys production proliferation in the 1950s created consumerism, forming a beneficial relationship that would serve each others needs. Galbraith states that the drive for economic security motivated corporations to increase production. Men seek to extinguish insecurity and establish economic security. Economic insecurity is only natural in a competitive society. A corporation can experience a vicissitude of fortunes. There are uncontrollable risks that accompany business. That is why, the elimination of economic insecurity was pioneered by the business firm . . . From the very beginning of modern capitalist society, business men have addressed themselves to the elimination or the mitigation of this source of insecurity. Having complete control over prices and supply gave firms absolute security (Galbraith 97). Businesses need a high level of economic security in order to sustain maximum production (Galbraith 111). ...
