>In fact, after 15 years of depression and war, the capitalist world
>embarked on a great boom
>that lasted for almost 30 years.
Which is why the idea that things only get better is so deeply ingrained here. I have a vivid childhood memory of my grandmother sitting on a bench in the middle of a Southern California mall and looking around saying "Isn't this wonderful?"
And why wouldn't she feel that way? Both her parents died when she was barely in her teens and during the Great Depression she and her siblings lived for a time in a tent. It would be hard to convince someone who went from that to visiting sisters who owned their own homes and businesses in SoCal--- in the space of about 30 years--- that there was something to complain about.