Smith does an excellent job of identifying such views of this period as idealized myths that are easily explained by historical factors, although his explanations of the causes of the decline in conditions favorable to ordinary Americans are good, but very limited.If there is one thing that unites trade unionists, Keynesian Cargo Cultists, free-market fans[Liberals, libertarians, and old-fashioned conservatives] and believers in American exceptionalism, it’s a misty-eyed nostalgia for the Golden Era of the 1950s and 60s, when one wage-earner earned enough to buy all the goodies of a middle-class lifestyle because everything was cheap. Food was cheap, land was cheap, houses were cheap, college was cheap and most importantly, oil was cheap.
The entire political spectrum looks back at this Golden Age with longing because it was an era of “the rising tide raises all ships:” essentially full employment, a strong U.S. dollar and overseas demand for U.S. goods combined to raise wages while keeping inflation low.
Since this ideal period spokespeople from these ideological camps are disturbed by the many social and economic problems that have since developed in US society. They fail to understand that the natural evolution of capitalism toward ever greater concentrations of wealth (and power) has created these problems. They cling to beliefs that we can fix the system and return to the wonderful days of yore. Such critics get wide exposure on the web and thus create distractions for serious criticism of the capitalist system that many people are looking for as an alternative to the views purveyed by mainstream media.