Consumerism after World War IIAfter World War II, why did the economy prosper and what role did consumerism play in the years 1950? After World War II, many economists predicted a recession in the American economy. This is easy to do when at the height of post-war unemployment, in March 1946, 2.7 million people were looking for work. In 1945, people were laid off. However, “in 1945 the United States entered one of its longest and most consistent periods of growth and prosperity” (Norton 829). How is this possible? With many new developments affecting the social and economic behavior of the United States, the nation's wealth exploded. It is the extreme wealth of this society that supports and creates consumerism, “Americans' [increased] appetite for goods and services” (Norton 832). The automobile, television, and increased personal income contributed to increased consumerism. The American economy of the 1950s was defined simply by increased production and increased demand. The leading economist of the 1950s was John Kenneth Galbraith. According to Galbraith's The Affluent Society, the proliferation of economic production in the 1950s created consumerism, forming a beneficial relationship that would meet everyone's needs. Galbraith states that the search for economic security motivated companies to increase production. Men seek to extinguish insecurity and establish economic security. Economic insecurity is only natural in a competitive society. A business can experience vicissitudes of fortune. There are uncontrollable risks that come with business. This is why “the elimination of economic insecurity was the first to be led by business. . . Since the very beginning of modern capitalist society, businessmen have turned to middle of paper......university of Chicago Press, 1997.French, Michael. Economic History of the United States since 1945. New York: Manchester University Press, 1997. Galbraith2, John Kenneth. American capitalism: The concept of countervailing power. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 1993. Galbraith, John Kenneth. The rich society. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1969. Historical Statistics of the United States: The Colonial Era to 1970. Ed. James L. Pate. Bicentenary edition. Washington DC: US ​​Department of Commerce, 1975. Norton, Mary Beth. One People and One Nation: A History of the United States. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998. Schor, Juliet. Consumer desires: consumption, culture and the search for happiness. Ed. Roger Rosenblatt. Washington DC: Island Press, 1999. Zunz, Olivier. Why the American century? Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998.