Triumph of Mass Consumption

A century ago, almost half of Americans worked on farms (41%), and the average American household spent more than half of their incomes (57%) on just food (43%) and clothing (14%).

By 2002, fewer than 3% of Americans worked on farms, and spending on food and clothing were 13% and 4%, or less than one-fifth of their income (17%). Meanwhile, real family incomes have exploded. Filling the spending gap are all the things we take for granted -- cars, TVs, travel, telephones, the Internet. Home ownership is at an all-time high of almost 70% of households.

This triumph of mass consumption can be credited to technological breakthroughs, from the assembly line to computer chips, and the accompanying productivity improvements.

Read more from Robert J. Samuelson in today's Washington Post.