What happened between the 60s and now?

[AshyPhoenix]

I'm honestly very ignorant about 20th century history, but from what I've heard, the 60s and 70s were a very important time for social change. It seems as if a huge amount of social injustice was righted in those two decades, but then it seems as if the impetus kind of dropped off. It seems like now, in the 21st century, that yearning for social equality is getting a bit of a second wind.

So, what happened in the 80s and 90s? Did people just become complacent with all the change that had just happened and not want to fight any more? Or is there a large chunk of history I'm ignorant about?

[bankside]

I'm honestly very ignorant about 20th century history, but from what I've heard, the 60s and 70s were a very important time for social change. It seems as if a huge amount of social injustice was righted in those two decades, but then it seems as if the impetus kind of dropped off. It seems like now, in the 21st century, that yearning for social equality is getting a bit of a second wind.

So, what happened in the 80s and 90s? Did people just become complacent with all the change that had just happened and not want to fight any more? Or is there a large chunk of history I'm ignorant about?

The 80's and 90's saw the end of the cold war, the fall of the Berlin wall, and the end of apartheid in South Africa. The 90's basically put the majority of the legal protections in place for gay people (at least in most civilized countries…a few have been a bit late to catch up)

It was not a total write-off.

[ChickenGuy]

What happened was the monetarist policies of Reagan and Thatcher which led to the mantra of success measured by personal wealth. Society became dominated by corporations, stockmarkets, financial portfolios, individualism and greed.

Where the West goes the rest of the world largely follows, and so the once great enemies of USSR/China have both happily jumped on the capitalist bandwagon, and freedom be damned.

And in place of outrage and anger, the populace has been distracted and made docile by the trivial pursuits of mind-numbing TV shows and the latest status-symbols such as whatever new electronic gadget is out on the market.

I find the whole concept of what is deemed to be 'freedom' in the 21st century - essentially just blatant consumerism and globalisation - to be monumentally depressing.

[birddog7]

What happened was the monetarist policies of Reagan and Thatcher which led to the mantra of success measured by personal wealth. Society became dominated by corporations, stockmarkets, financial portfolios, individualism and greed.

Where the West goes the rest of the world largely follows, and so the once great enemies of USSR/China have both happily jumped on the capitalist bandwagon, and freedom be damned.

And in place of outrage and anger, the populace has been distracted and made docile by the trivial pursuits of mind-numbing TV shows and the latest status-symbols such as whatever new electronic gadget is out on the market.

I find the whole concept of what is deemed to be 'freedom' in the 21st century - essentially just blatant consumerism and globalisation - to be monumentally depressing.

A agree 100%...

[handyman76]

It seems hard to summarize a decade in just a couple of sentences. But here are a couple of thoughts.

First, I think that there was a reaction against the excesses of the 60's and 70's. Some people were fighting a rearguard action against free love (including gay sex), and equality for women and blacks, which continues to this very day. But there were more for whom the drugs and violence were a turnoff. Not to mention long hair, bell bottoms, psychedelic posters. How long could those extreme fashions last?

The end of the Vietnam War, and the end of the draft, meant that many Americans were no longer directly affected by war. For decades, we had no major military involvements, and even now, it only affects those few who volunteer. The rest of us didn't have to make any sacrifices, not even higher taxes (until perhaps now). That removed a lot of the pressure that had led to unrest earlier. [edit] And as others have remarked, general prosperity (and consumerism) in the 80's and 90's also reduced unrest.

In between, there was the Arab oil embargo, and the period of stagflation that followed, and the Iran hostage crisis, and Lebanon. Following the loss in Vietnam, I think this really sapped our sense that America could do anything, achieve anything. The flower power, new age, summer of love thing looked naive in retrospect, though perhaps beautiful.

Still, there were areas of progress in the 80's and the 90's, despite some backsliding. The fight against AIDS contributed to the advance of gay rights generally, I think, though it has taken a long time to come to fruition. In other areas, greater freedom and greater acceptance of diversity remain more widespread than a half century ago.

More lately, inequality has been growing again. Perhaps the seeds were sown as early as deregulation under Reagan. But it has been getting more obvious, especially since 2008, and I think that contributes to a new spirit of social activism.

[M10000]

Russians were the bad guys. it was a huge big deal and I think most people thought if the world ended it would be because the Russians bombed us.

[bankside]

I actually think material comforts should be part of a measure of success. I think we should aspire to economic security.

The problem with Thatcherism was the assumption that if people failed to achieve material comfort, it was because of a personal failing. There was never a problem with material comfort as such, which a lot of modern socialists forget.

[JP.]

Every era give a bridge to each other, there is no such thing as unimportant era.
The 80's and 90's are terribly important for wealth

I wish I hv old money from that period of time

[csb999]

I think the two largest historical events would have be the end of the cold war-collapse of the former USSR and the 90s internet-pc , which has had and will have a major impact on human society , possibly I think the single largest event in human history .

[Harke the Boeotarch]

The 80's and 90's saw the end of the cold war, the fall of the Berlin wall, and the end of apartheid in South Africa. The 90's basically put the majority of the legal protections in place for gay people (at least in most civilized countries…a few have been a bit late to catch up)

It was not a total write-off.

Some countries were in the game a lot earlier than others.

What happened was the monetarist policies of Reagan and Thatcher which led to the mantra of success measured by personal wealth. Society became dominated by corporations, stockmarkets, financial portfolios, individualism and greed.

Where the West goes the rest of the world largely follows, and so the once great enemies of USSR/China have both happily jumped on the capitalist bandwagon, and freedom be damned.

And in place of outrage and anger, the populace has been distracted and made docile by the trivial pursuits of mind-numbing TV shows and the latest status-symbols such as whatever new electronic gadget is out on the market.

I find the whole concept of what is deemed to be 'freedom' in the 21st century - essentially just blatant consumerism and globalisation - to be monumentally depressing.

The problem was that the state was running its affairs badly, and many of the industries within the welfare state were so morose the government had to jump in to save them again and again. A bit like the banks now. Very much in fact.

[csb999]

funny coincidence that no one else even mentioned the 1 way this question can even be asked

[AshyPhoenix]

Well, this turned out to be interesting. I guess I wasn't too far off, aside from what bankside mentioned and the fight against AIDS. I can definitely see why there would be a backlash against the 60s and 70s, especially in the wake of modern consumerism.

[seven2go]

It seems hard to summarize a decade in just a couple of sentences. But here are a couple of thoughts.

First, I think that there was a reaction against the excesses of the 60's and 70's. Some people were fighting a rearguard action against free love (including gay sex), and equality for women and blacks, which continues to this very day. But there were more for whom the drugs and violence were a turnoff. Not to mention long hair, bell bottoms, psychedelic posters. How long could those extreme fashions last?

DAMN I miss my bell bottom pants........I loved those things.......

[bankside]

funny coincidence that no one else even mentioned the 1 way this question can even be asked

oh, you mean the internet….