Part 6: Collapse at the Center, Rise & Fall of World Communism

The aftermath of World War I brought out substantial social and cultural changes to European and

American victors in that conflict. The war had loosened the hold of tradition in many ways. Women

increasingly gained the right to vote. They began to express themselves more openly...all good things.

However, out of all the things to come out of WWI, The Great Depression stuck out to me. The new

consumerism that was a result of industrial capitalism spurred the most substantial economic growth

in world history. Its very success generated an individualistic materialism that seemed to conflict with

older values of community and spiritual life. (Strayer pg 633) I see that same materialism today, but

times ten! Everything is marketing and sell, sell, sell! To socialists and many others, the immense

social inequalities were unacceptable during this post war time. Looking back at history, The Great

Depression was no surprise...it was inevitable. Greed will always produce losers. We had that same

kind of greed bite us in the but back in 2008 with the mortgage crisis...People knew that the top was

gonna blow eventually, and although many people lost out big time, many people also profited.

 Reading about the Great Depression helps me to understand the mind set of my father who was born

in 1934, to immigrant parents from Italy. He always told me that while he was growing up, he never

had money to go to a movie or buy and ice cream. I  have always know him to be very frugal with his

 money and his childhood is probably a big reason why. Than I look at my nieces and nephews who

are quite spoiled, and get practically anything their hearts desire. I certainly didn't while I was

growing up! We have a lot to be thankful, stemming from the Great Depression. Out of it came

President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal (1933-1942) which helped to prime the economy and

reduce unemployment. Social Security came out of the New Deal, although its hard to say if I will

benefit from it, at my current age of 39. Minimum wage and other various relief and welfare

programs stemmed from the New Deal. Farm subsidies created a permanent agribusiness which we

see today. It also created a vast array of government agencies that were designed to give a new degree

of federal regulation and supervision to the economy.