Whatever Happened To The Golden Age Of America

What time period do you consider to be the 'golden age' of American culture?

Its tough to pin down a specific era since, whatever this era may be called one day, its probably whatever we’re living in right now. While I’m inclined to highlight a specific decade or two from the recent past, this period of American dominance has certainly been more sustained and historically important than a couple years can define alone.Recall, the Victorian era lasted for roughly 64 years (and ostensibly can be stretched for a number of decades before and after her technical reign). Similarly, France’s period of dominance (The Enlightenment) that lasted throughout the 18th century and Italy’s Renaissance lasted the TWO centuries before that!America has been dominating the world since the end of WW2, and so we’ve just passed 70 years by that measure. Aesthetically we’ve changed dramatically throughout this time, but philosophically we’ve only made subtle shifts. I think this IS America’s golden age, and with the rise of Asia we’ll perhaps see a shift in the world’s attention again at some point.Nevertheless, lets relive some of the glory days:Transportation in the 1940sArchitecture in the 1950sFashion in the 1960sMusic in the 1970sFilm from the 1980sVideo games in the 1990sLiterature in the 2000sThe Internet in the 2010s(** But if you’re really just asking me my favaourite aesthetic period then I have a weakness for the anything between the 1920’s and 1960’s)

Did the United States have a “golden age,” and if so, when was it?

I would suggest 1945-1965(I've updated my answer: I'd originally said 1973, which is when economic growth & rising median incomes stopped, but on reflection maybe Vietnam & the start of the culture wars means the 'Golden age' ended a few years earlier)This was the period of the American Dream made real:real incomes rose for everyone (which has not happened since);the middle class dream of a good job & a good home became a reality;America as an actor on the world stage was (mostly) seen positively *;there were steady moves to sexual equality & civil rights;it become possible to do what you wanted to do with your life rather than what you had to do for most people* Vietnam, of course, stopped thatEDITIn a very real sense this was 'lifting all the boats': the growth benefited all sectors of society, without the exploitation or theft seen in earlier periodsUPDATEThis is primarily true for white men.As Duncan Cairncross points out less so for everybody else.He says: “For anybody other than a white male? The USA has NEVER had a “Golden Age” which might be a bit harsh, but the distinction is worth making

Has Apple's golden age ended?

Has Apple’s Golden Age ended? I guess that depends on what you consider its Golden Age. I would argue that there have been three Apple Golden Ages based on three product arcs: Apple II, Macintosh, and iPhone. The Apple II age ended long ago with Apple leadership accelerating its demise because they wanted to focus on the Macintosh.While Apple still sells millions of Macintosh computers, it has been eclipsed by the iPhone. Maybe the Mac is in a Silver Age as in “silver years”. There is still a lot of life in the Mac — and there would be more if Apple aggressively supported the Mac — but it has become second fiddle to iOS (iPhone and, to a lesser extent, iPad).Many fear that the iPhone Golden Age is ending, with unit sales stagnating and Apple announcing that they will not report unit sales in the future. The iPhone market is maturing (has matured?) and Apple will intelligently manage it while it ramps up on its next Golden Age.What will the next Golden Age be? The Apple Watch Series 4 has done very well, but it is still not enough of a dollar volume to replace the iPhone. Tim Cook has repeatedly referred to Augmented Reality (AR) as a big area of interest for the company. AR done right could be what replaces the iPhone in sales volume. The long-rumored Apple Car still remains a rumor, but a whole lot of Apple people are working on something in that space. Other things that get discussed are home automation (a subset of the also-mentioned Internet of Things) and, somewhat nebulously, healthcare. People also tend to forget that Apple is currently doing more business with enterprise IT than they ever have before.Whatever is next, Apple has the resources, people, and culture to do whatever it wants and do it at scale. Apple plays the long game and they can afford to indulge in hobbies (Apple TV) and other avocations until they are able to develop them over time into The Next Big Thing™ or the next Apple Golden Age.

Were the '50s and '60s a golden age for capitalism and why?

Certainly, for the reasons Joseph has given.I would add that equality was higher post-WWII and before the '80s in the UK. Essentially, more people benefited from capitalism in a progressive (read: upward) way. This is why people say the Boomers are lucky; because they rode this crest of equality, and then benefited from the inequality which rose sharply after Thatcher came to power (because the older generation in a given society generally does benefit the most when it comes to economics - the young are cash poor but time and health rich, the middle aged are time poor but health and cash rich and the elderly are health poor but time and cash rich).If more people are benefiting from capitalism than not, that means it is, broadly, working as an economic orthodoxy. As soon as it stops working for the majority - which is what is happening today as the middle is being ever more squeezed and CEO pay sky-rockets out of whack with their abilities and output while the middle and the lower classes remain stagnant - then it has problems. So, generally speaking, it was a golden age preceding a dying model; problems with late-stage capitalism are abundantly clear in 2015. In the '60s, you might have had a few hardcore lefties talking about smashing the system, but lets remember that the hippies are the Boomers today who are, generally speaking, the group benefiting from capitalism. They tend to be the wealthiest, have most political clout, and occupy most of the important offices in the country (be they political or in business). White, male, middle-class (preferably privately schooled) men, whatever your bias or slant, are the ones in power in the West.

What ever happened to ham radio? There were once thousands of DXers. Are they still at it or have they gone online?

Licensed since 1970 at the age of 12, I’ve thought about this as well. I see two major factors behind the decline in interest among young people.The focus of innovation has moved on. In the 1970’s solid state radio electronics was the cutting edge and a stepping stone to many technical careers.Ham radio was widely seen as cool and conferred special capabilities. With the popularity of 2-meter repeaters, radio amateurs had the best mobile network available. The HF bands offered a cost effective means of keeping in touch with friends and relatives far away. Knowledge of radio technique was vital for aviation and maritime travelHam radio still offers many opportunities to explore technical interests and build friendships. The learning curve to get a license confers status among members of the community. Being a ham makes you part of a special club.What’s different today is that people have so many other good choices to pursue technical interests, and the diversity of radio technique itself has made ham radio much less focussed. In addition to classic CW, HF SSB, and FM repeaters, there are many other popular modes including teletype, digital, satellite, packet, APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System), HamNet, Linked repeaters, etc.Those of us who lived through the golden age of Amateur Radio are approaching retirement or older. Will there ever be another golden age in Amateur Radio? With so much of the population carrying Internet connected supercomputers in their pocket, and software transforming the world, it’s hard to see at this time.73, W8PS

Why do people refer to old age as the "Golden Years?" What is so great about seniority in age?

Yes and no.I am 51. I live in a retirement community, so I have and know many people in their 60s and up. There is a lot about being that age that isn’t so golden, including a number of things you didn’t mention. I’ll leave others to fill in those gaps.But there are certain things that ARE golden, or at least can be golden. I’m going to paint you the picture that I think many people imagine when they think of the 60s and older as the “golden years.”If you plan your life right and take care of yourself, you can avoid a lot of the physical issues that traditionally go with aging. If you take care of your finances (and yes, I know that’s a huge challenge with student debt) and manage to plan for retirement, you can be in the position of not working, or working a lot less than you were.Also, by the time you’ve reached your “golden” years, the kids are grown and you and your spouse now have time and the house to yourselves. You can enjoy your grandchildren…and give them back to their parents at the end of the day to take care of. You have the time to explore interests that you didn’t have time for when you were busy working and the kids were growing up.If you’ve planned right, you can travel from time to time, with all the broadening of experiences that implies. You have a lifetime of experience to call upon for choosing whatever you want your next cool challenge to be — whether it’s climbing a mountain, running a triathlon, starting your own business, or working for your favorite charity (and yes, there are people in their golden years who have done all these things and more).By the time you reach your golden years, ideally, you know you are — *really* know who you are — and have developed a strong sense of self-worth, self-confidence, and self esteem. You don’t care nearly as much about what other people (especially strangers) think of you — and let me tell you, that’s a major burden that feels wonderful to put down!In short, the golden years are imagined as golden because they’re often the first time since childhood or college that a person may have so many opportunities to explore, try new things out, and do exactly what they want to do. When you add the confidence that a lifetime of experience brings, well, that’s pretty special.In fairness, I should add that the best-laid plans often go awry. Not everyone’s golden years are golden, as you observed. But many of us still strive for it just the same.