I don't want to argue with you. The populace getting to enjoy some of the empire's scraps doesn't exactly change the direction if you look at it from the outside, but pre Reagan there was some hope, I'd agree with that
The populace getting to enjoy some of the empire’s scraps doesn’t exactly change the direction
The quality of life enjoyed by people emerging from the Great Depression improved radically with electrification, modern industrialization, modern medicine, etc. Like, this isn't something you can debate in any practical sense. It wasn't unique to the United States, either. This was a boom enjoyed across the industrial world, from Soviet Russia to the Royalist UK.
If you're asking "Why did people put up with this?" its because their material conditions were steadily improving for a solid two generations, peaking with some of the highest quality of life enjoyed by anyone at any prior point in history. The subsequent peak and slide-off of these gains, combined with material stresses driven by climate change, racial/gender integration, and a new era of global war, is what is driving rejection of the current day regimes in the western world.
Ok, but now do infant mortality, life expectancy, and income inequality.
I don't want to argue with you. The populace getting to enjoy some of the empire's scraps doesn't exactly change the direction if you look at it from the outside, but pre Reagan there was some hope, I'd agree with that
The quality of life enjoyed by people emerging from the Great Depression improved radically with electrification, modern industrialization, modern medicine, etc. Like, this isn't something you can debate in any practical sense. It wasn't unique to the United States, either. This was a boom enjoyed across the industrial world, from Soviet Russia to the Royalist UK.
If you're asking "Why did people put up with this?" its because their material conditions were steadily improving for a solid two generations, peaking with some of the highest quality of life enjoyed by anyone at any prior point in history. The subsequent peak and slide-off of these gains, combined with material stresses driven by climate change, racial/gender integration, and a new era of global war, is what is driving rejection of the current day regimes in the western world.
Thanks for that comprehensive explanation.