An extraordinary time : the end of the postwar boom and the return of the ordinary economy / Marc Levinson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Levinson, Marc, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Economic history--20th century.

Economic history.

Economic policy--20th century.

Economic policy.

Capital market--History--20th century.

Capital market.

Foreign exchange rates--History--20th century.

Foreign exchange rates.

History.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

vii, 326 pages ; 25 cm

Other Title:

End of the postwar boom and the return of the ordinary economy

Place of Publication:

New York : Basic Books, [2016]

Summary:

"In An Extraordinary Time, acclaimed economic historian Marc Levinson recounts the global collapse of the postwar economy in the 1970s. While economists struggle to return us to the high economic growth rates of the past, Levinson counterintuitively argues that the boom years of the 1950s and 1960s were an anomaly; slow economic growth is the norm-no matter what economists and politicians may say. Yet these atypical years left the public with unreasonable expectations of what government can achieve. When the economy failed to revive, suspicion of government and liberal institutions rose sharply, laying the groundwork for the political and economic polarization that we're still grappling with today. A sweeping reappraisal of the last sixty years of world history, An Extraordinary Time describes how the postwar economic boom dissipated, undermining faith in government, destabilizing the global financial system, and forcing us to come to terms with how tumultuous our economy really is"-- Provided by publisher.

"The decades after World War II were a golden age across much of the world. It was a time of economic miracles, an era when steady jobs were easy to find and families could see their living standards improving year after year. And then, around 1973, the good times vanished. The world economy slumped badly, then settled into the slow, erratic growth that had been the norm before the war. The result was an era of anxiety, uncertainty, and political extremism that we are still grappling with today. In An Extraordinary Time, acclaimed economic historian Marc Levinson describes how the end of the postwar boom reverberated throughout the global economy, bringing energy shortages, financial crises, soaring unemployment, and a gnawing sense of insecurity. Politicians, suddenly unable to deliver the prosperity of years past, railed helplessly against currency speculators, oil sheikhs, and other forces they could not control. From Sweden to Southern California, citizens grew suspicious of their newly ineffective governments and rebelled against the high taxes needed to support social welfare programs enacted when coffers were flush. Almost everywhere, the pendulum swung to the right, bringing politicians like Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan to power. But their promises that deregulation, privatization, lower tax rates, and smaller government would restore economic security and robust growth proved unfounded. Although the guiding hand of the state could no longer deliver the steady economic performance the public had come to expect, free-market policies were equally unable to do so. The golden age would not come back again. A sweeping reappraisal of the last sixty years of world history, An Extraordinary Time forces us to come to terms with how little control we actually have over the economy."--Dust jacket.

Contents:

The new economics

The magic square

Chaos

Crisis of faith

The great stagflation

Gold boys

Quotas and concubines

The export machine

The end of the dream

The right turn

Thatcher

Socialism's last stand

Morning in America

The lost decade

The new world.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Levinson, Marc, author. Extraordinary time.

ISBN:

9780465061983

0465061982

OCLC:

945232333