Consider a nation in which family income is growing at a brisk rate, and has done so, with only brief interruptions, for nearly twenty years. The number of individuals classified as poor falls steadily, from roughly 40 million to just under 25 million in less than a decade. Unemployment is low. Just one working parent, as is common in this economy, can easily support an average family. It is a fundamental belief of this society, and a not unrealistic one given continually improving economic and social conditions, that children will surpass their parents' standard of living. This nation's economic competitiveness on world markets is unchallenged. Its currency is an international standard of value. The nation is globally hegemonic; its domestic economy is little affected, let alone dominated, by outside competitors.

And this nation's government attracts “the best and the brightest.” Though many question the government's foreign policy aims, few doubt its effectiveness and efficiency, as exemplified by a wide variety of public works programs. The government is seen, on the whole, as beneficial, providing unemployment insurance, social security, medical coverage for the elderly, and ultimately, economic stability and growth.

This nation, of course, was the United States of only thirty years ago, during a time of prosperity which all Americans born before 1960 can remember. Rapid material growth rates were matched by equally optimistic attitudes on the part of policy makers.