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PaperclipPerfector  18d ago (text post)   2764 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for April 12, 2024

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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Why is 80s media so upbeat and optimistic? Are there significant reasons besides abundant cocaine?

Neoliberals were strip mining the economy and the labor market, but the short term effects were pretty impressive. The foreign policy establishment was digging us into a hole that would eventually lead to the collapse of the empire, but in the short run in made us feel very strong. A lot like someone on a cocaine bender, ironically.

Neoliberals were strip mining the economy and the labor market

Neoliberals embraced deregulation and austerity because Keynesian economics and large amounts of the economy being state owned or heavily regulated lead to the stagflation of the 70s.

Fashion oscillates, and the zeitgeist happened to swing towards optimism?

Though…in last week’s conversation about housing, someone mentioned that incomes grew unusually fast in the 80s. So I can’t rule out something like that. Maybe anything was better than stagflation.

Probably a reaction to 70s media being so depressing and dystopian (Logan’s Run, Soylent Green, Taxi Driver).

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