Question

The quote below was written by a prominent figure in 1889:

"While the law [of competition] may be sometimes hard for the individual, it is best for the race, because it insures the survival of the fittest in every department. We accept and welcome, therefore, as conditions to which we must accommodate ourselves, great inequality of environment, the concentration of business, industrial and commercial, in the hands of a few, and the law of competition between these, as being not only beneficial, but essential for the future progress of the race."

How did proponents of the philosophy represented by this quote view wealth?

As a reward for hard work and good business sense
As an asset that should be shared equally by the community
As a right all people are entitled to receive from the government
As a distraction that kept people from their true purpose of helping others

Answer 1

A major indicator that the US economy was not as strong as many believed it to be in the 1920s was

a. The growing strength of labor unions and industrial militancy.

b. In the 1920s, more people lived on farms than in cities.

c. The declining US birthrate.

d. The growth of credit and advertising - aimed to stimulate and finance consumption - even though the average consumer was unable to pay for new products.