> "Why is the author ignoring the change in conditions that led to that change in expectations?"
Because recreating the economic conditions of the '50s-'90s would require repeating the global devastation of industry and commerce of World War 2 but with the US (again) untouched along with reduction of emerging economies back to the backward state they were in then. Anytime one sees people asking why America can't just bring back to that golden (for the US) era, this should be pointed out in no uncertain terms. There is no way to put the genie back in the bottle.
Because recreating the economic conditions of the '50s-'90s would require repeating the global devastation of industry and commerce of World War 2 but with the US (again) untouched along with reduction of emerging economies back to the backward state they were in then. Anytime one sees people asking why America can't just bring back to that golden (for the US) era, this should be pointed out in no uncertain terms. There is no way to put the genie back in the bottle.