With the economy in its current state, there has been a trend to 50’s nostalgia. In class, we talk about how we must adapt to the new normal, on TV, we hear about how the economy is not what it used to be, and on the internet, jokes like “Old Economy Steve” memes pop up. I wonder, however, are things really that much worse than they used to be?
While the economy may seem to be fairing worse than ever
before, it may not be the case.
We have accumulated unprecedented wealth, have to perform considerably less
manual labor, have more leisure time, and in general have better living
conditions than in the past. While we may not have the same rate of economic
growth, we still have more money than any society in history has ever had. It
would be unreasonable to assume that we could continue to make more and more
money forever. Plus, we enjoy many more luxuries than previous generations, so
what we lack in economic growth we make up for in standard of living.
Another aspect of 1950’s nostalgia that we fail to think
about is the gender inequality. In the 1950’s, women were confined to the
domestic sphere and did not venture out into the workplace as much as they do
now. It makes sense that men used to make significantly more money since they
had to provide for an entire family on one income. When women started to enter
the workplace, the new norm came of a dual earning family. It is logical, then,
that men do not earn enough to support an entire family.
Lastly, there is the whole education issue. For those of us
who chose essay prompt 1, Vedder’s argument has been bouncing around our heads
for the past week. The unfortunate truth of modern society is that there are
too many people with degrees. A bachelor’s does not mean what it used to, and
there is no guarantee of having a job. Despite this unfortunate reality, there
is still more access to education now than there ever was in the past. Women
and people of color are now able to go to almost any university they want and
attain a degree. I would argue that it is better to allow everyone a more equal
opportunity to be educated and have the market oversaturated than to restrict
an education to only the privileged and have a better market for graduates.
Things in the past were not as perfect as they seemed. With
harsher working conditions and greater social inequality, many people would not
have fared much better 60 years ago. We should take a second and step back to
think about all of the things we have now that people didn’t have in the 50’s. We
live more comfortably, have more leisure time, have greater gender equality,
and have more access to education than ever before. Sure, the economy isn’t
what it used to be, but nevertheless I ask, which decade would you rather live
in?
I would rather live in the present decade, and if you ask me this question in 2030, I would say I would rather live in 2030.
ReplyDeleteEvery decade we have higher expectations academically as we have more ways to gather knowledge. I personally do not see that as a bad thing. I see higher expectations as a constant - a non-variable. But what is variable is the context of the environment. 50 years ago, we barely had televisions or cell phones. If the cost of technological innovation is having higher expectations, so be it. We live more comfortably because we now have higher standards of living. How is that necessarily a bad thing?
I think these are some really interesting points, especially the one about gender inequality. A lot of the good economic conditions (like a good amount of jobs, good pay, etc.) were due to the fact that large parts of the population (women in particular) weren’t working. They might have been the “good times” for white males, but a lot of this was only because there was a lack of equal opportunity for everyone. It seems like this idea circles back to our class discussions about equal opportunity and the job market (like Vedder talks about, the selectivity of Bachelor’s degrees makes it easier for those with them to find meaningful employment). It’s always important to keep in mind that a certain structure might highly benefit a group of people but that doesn’t mean it’s what’s best. Really interesting post!
ReplyDeleteAsif, I agree that we have a higher standard of living now than ever before and that technology has improved our lives. In going with that, it seems reasonable to think that each generation will improve. However, I notice that we also have bias towards our generation because that's what we were a part of. For example, I look at my younger cousins with all of their luxuries and think that they are too spoiled, but I look at my parents generation and think that they were more backwards. I wonder if we always think growing up in our decade is the best because we have a bias or because there truly are advantages?
ReplyDeleteSara, I really appreciate how you related the post back to previous readings. I think that Vedder may take issue with this post, saying that things were in fact better in previous decades because there was "better" job placement.
Bullshit, economy was far far better before. I know by my parents in the 1980, the had a wonderful life, wonderful economy, and this was so for everyone. Today is all satan.
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