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Debating Enterprise
The Consumer Era (1940s-1970s)
After World War II, Americans enjoyed expanded opportunities and material prosperity. But income inequality persisted, and people questioned whether the government should intervene to balance the scales.
"The affluent society makes no meaningful distinction between luxury and necessity."
-- Economist John Kenneth Galbraith argued that an unregulated marketplace resulted in "private opulence and public squalor."
"The only way a government can be of service to national prosperity is by keeping its hands off."
-- Philosopher Ayn Rand invoked the benefits of a free and unregulated marketplace where the most competitive individuals could thrive.
"A community is democratic only when the humblest and weakest person can enjoy the highest civil, economic, and social rights that the biggest and most powerful possess."
-- Labor and civil rights leader A. Philip Randolph argued that equality of opportunity could not be left to the marketplace. |