So different, so appealing

Consumption, city life and popular culture in abundance capitalism

Between the end of the Second World War and the crises of 68, the world lived through a historical period dominated by the tense geopolitical balance of the Cold War. Western Europe came under the new hegemony of the United States and lived through a long period of continuous political stability and economic growth, in which the Welfare State evolved. In that period, which is known as the "Golden Age of capitalism", there was a deep transformation of the conditions of life in the modern city, marked by the expansion of educational, health and cultural policies, an overall improvement in the working classes' standard of living and the rise of mass production and consumer goods. That is the context in which Pop Art emerged, by way of a critical response to the myths of post-war capitalism.