Related, because of double digit inflation during the 1970s, most people don’t realize how bad the crash was from 1966 to 1982. Going from near 1,100 to 800 sounds bad but not record breaking. But factor in the double digit inflation and it is an 80% crash, slightly worse than the 75% crash of 1929-1933. It’s that 16 year crash that lead to the famous 1982 cover story of BusinessWeek “Is this the end of equities?” Of course, after 1982 the market grew at a remarkable clip till 2001, and in 2021 it’s currently up by more than a factor of 35 over 1982.
Some interesting parallels between the 1970's and the 2020's, both seeing global economic growth stagnating after a protracted boom period ending in major economic crises, inducing a kind of awkward period of digestive realignment.
It is remarkable how overlooked that era is today, despite it being a highly transformational time and economically very distinct, yet it's remembered mostly just by disco and unusually gritty movies.
Perhaps because compared to the revolutionary 60's (and later rebuilding of the 80's) it's a more confusingly anarchic time with no clear narrative to grasp a hold of to make sense of it.
More like a messy organic reorganisation as both the counter-culture and traditional culture lost coherence in the face of high unemployment & high inflation, and with society's rule book torn up but no clear path to a better one.
Maybe being a time of social fragmentation and escalating ambient mayhem from crime, hijackings, bombings etc, the best way to make sense of it is actually to watch those great auteur movies unique to the era dripping with atmosphere and mood. Less of a narrative, more a vibe.
