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Wealth equality and social progress went hand in hand
The 1960's were a time of cultural creativity, political enlightenment, and social growth - and also the period of most equality between rich and poor.
Date: 5/3/2007 7:53:04 PM ( 17 y ) ... viewed 1988 times
Why were the 1960's such a time of cultural creativity, political enlightenment, and social growth?
What made it that way? What was behind the freedom people felt? Why did they have such a high standards for society where they asked for peace and love and no polluting ? Why would they even care? *
I am suggsting that the "more beautiful" society then was mostly due to that era being a period of wealth equality between the rich and poor people in developed nations, specifically in the USA:
quotes : "From the mid 1950s to the mid 1970s, the share of non-military government spending of GNP rose from 9.2 to 14.3 percent, an increase of 5.1 percent. During that time period, the share of military spending of GNP declined from 10.1 to 5.8 percent, a decline of 4.3 percent"
"When the share of non-military public spending rose relative to that of military spending from the mid 1950 to the mid 1970s, and the taxation system or policy remained relatively more progressive compared to what it is today, income inequality declined accordingly."
" There were two major peaks and a trough of the long-term picture of income inequality in the United States: The first peak was reached during the turbulent years of the Great Depression (1929-1933), but it soon began to decline with the implementation of the New Deal reforms in the mid 1930s. The ensuing decline continued almost unabated until 1968, at which time we note the lowest level of inequality. After 1968, the improving trend in inequality changed course. But the reversal was not very perceptible until the early 1980s, after which time it began to accelerate due to Reaganomics.
- end quotes -
That data shows that 1968 was the year where wealth equality between rish and poor was at it's greatest ["most equal"]. After recovering from the disaster of 1933 until 1968, and a few years afterwards too, life was at its best in America, and Canada. There almost was an American Dream that we could all attain, not just for a select few - and many did get 'the white picket fence' part of the dream to come true, a greater percentage than are getting that chance now.
There was lots of well-intentioned goals and there was a lot of cool things going on - see my addendum at the bottom. I do not mean to give the impression that the 1960's were the goal or the perfect world - far from it - but there were signs of getting closer, that it was at least "possible to get there from here". The 1960s were, of course, still fully under the domination of the military industrial complex, but the 1960's era shows what happens when we get 'even just a little bit' out from under them.
You could afford to pay your own way through university by working in the summers - that was realistic until about 1980. As a result, and what Castro just said this year, that education allows for a more creative and generally intelligent popoulation. I think the results showed up right away on that - there was generally more awareness of the world around us in that era than there is now.
That was just one area - education - of the many programs that showed results - there was also health care, social programs, and help for the disabled who ended up contributing so much to society, and proved they could be part of the workforce, all because they were given a chance. All these things contributed to a better society, with fewer damaged people fending for themselves.
We were all glad to contribute when there was something good to contribute to, unlike today when all we can contribute to is corporatism and creation of billionaires, of which most people, of course, will never be one. The 60's had a morality where "if we cannot all have some, then it should not be". We applied that to 'liqourice on a road trip' and we applied it to 'huge amounts of money' - its not right when it cannot be shared. Its not cool.
THEN IT GOT MEAN, sometime around 1980: WCB [workers compensation boards] across the country and federal UIC programs were told to stop giving money out wherever possible - "deny those stupid workers their benefits, we have to save money". The WCB ended up with huge surpluses that found their ways into private accounts when WCB was privatised.. Social programs were cut, welfare got harder to access, and rent rebates went out the door too. Day care programs ended, despite the growing situation of both parents working.
All these changes took place from 1980 to the present - Reaganomics, Bush and Bush 2, as well as Clinton cutting and gutting social programs to pay for the tax cuts for the wealthy, and the growing military spending.
I believe the world around us got meaner too, our social conscience dried up and more and more people forgot what being cool meant, they no longer lived it. Thatwas partly because there were more criminals and %¤#&!§-s around - we had to start protecting ourselves - from whom? - obviously, from the disadvanted ones who had programs cut to make room for military spending and tax cuts. Many people in this world find themselves in impossible situations and when work is hard to find, and housing is only for the wealthy, then many of the worst off, and less educated, will turn to crime, or maybe HAVE to turn to crime.
an addendum
What was so special about the "'60s"?
Although this is secondary to the main topic I want to discuss here, I will try describe some of the things that made that era unique:
There was a sense of freedom, of self-expression being allowed for the first time for many who had lived with repression.
There was a feeling that "we own this world" and that we would be responsible and take care of it, and it would take care of us". **
There was the music - a definate surge in new music that remains popular and uncontested in creativity to this day, from about 1965 to 1975, lagging only slightly some of the indicators of social consciousness blossoming.
There was Womens Lib - say no more!
Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring, and it was published!
Flower Power!! [and "Ya. man, its groovy, cool"]
The intellectual left of the time had seized upon Eisenhowers words about "the dangers of concentrated power in the military industrial complex" and made it into a theme for political activists, the same theme we are faced with today as the wars break out at the behest of pentagon contractors and the energy industry and weapons makers.
Limited Prosperity for the poor , and hope for more - poverty was being erased, numbers actually going DOWN, everybody was being educated and cared for when they neded medical attentioon, there were social agencies starting up that would help communities become vital and strong by addressing some of the problems that familes can have, thus allowing those formerly forgotten children to grow up with some more self-respect and who will be an asset to the community, It used to be more about "letting the weak die off so we bceome stronger", which is what we have returned to in the early 21st.C.
That was all good stuff then , worthy goals for any society, and now we have global warming as evidence that we were right about some of that - about keeping care of the planet and it will keep care of us. Our ideas from the '60s would have saved us from much of the global warming problems we are about to face. Those ideas, if implemented, and if the economic equality movement had continued on it's course towards more and more equality between the wealthy and poor, this world would have been beautiful by now... not ugly and in trouble.
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