• Part 6—1946-1959 Deceptive Prosperity Amid a Peace That Was Not
    Awake!—1987 | May 22

    • Prosperity​—But Costly and Deceptive

      In 1945 the inhabitants of war-ravaged Europe and Asia were in difficulties. For humanitarian reasons, but also driven by self-interest, the Allies devised the European Recovery Program. It was an agency that offered financial help in rebuilding Europe’s bombed-out industries. Popularly known as the Marshall Plan, named after the U.S. secretary of state who originated the idea, this do-it-yourself program, while costly, was effective.

      Economic and industrial recovery was remarkable. Modern plants full of up-to-date machinery enabled the defeated nations to catch up to, and in some cases to overtake, their victorious neighbors, who were often forced to make do with antiquated plants and equipment. During the 1950’s the so-called German economic miracle was in full swing, and by the end of the decade, Japan had embarked upon a building program that would enable it to conquer much of the world commercially.

      The victors, meanwhile, were also trying to get their domestic and economic policies back to normal. Construction of homes and production of domestic goods were severely curtailed during the war, when everything was geared to war production. There was now a tremendous market for items people had long done without. This meant work for all; at least for the moment, unemployment was no problem. The world was now headed toward a period of prosperity not seen since before the Great Depression.

      But prosperity had its price. More and more mothers took up secular work outside the home, sometimes neglecting children in doing so. Rising living standards allowed for more recreation, but it was not always wholesome. TV watching began replacing family conversation. A breakdown in family life led to an increase in divorce. This trend was later partially offset by the growing tendency of single people to live together without being married. Both trends implied a growing tendency to stress personal interests at the expense of others. Spiritual and moral values, already sorely disrupted by the war, were now being further eroded.