They bought mass-produced, disposable goods because that's the kind of product that was in stores. Stores themselves were fairly new. Not that long before, good

They bought mass-produced, disposable goods because that's the kind of product that was in stores. Stores themselves were fairly new. Not that long before, goods were artisanal, produced in low volumes by skilled craftsmen. Obtaining such a product frequently required a personal relationship, a long wait, and a lot of money. The 1950s American consumer culture enjoyed by the parents of middle-class Boomers was a time of significant gains in living standards, both perceived and actual. Refraining from that life would have meant being left behind on the margins of society. Their children, Boomers, didn't build the world they lived in: they just all tried to optimize for their well-being and choose the least bad out of options presented, just like everyone else. Moral questions about collective responsibility are always odd, because swimming against the wave requires one to value a moral code over their stability and prosperity: either because they're far from peril and afford to take a stand a moral stand, or because their safety is already precarious and they have more to gain than to lose. The people getting by in the middle preserve that by conforming. They buy the disposable stuff in the store, because the alternative has a higher upfront cost. They project a political stance that works best in their peer group, but in the presence of opportunity and information, they won't vote in a way that might endanger their status. The collective actions of each generation's majority is what led us to where we are today, but it's a mistake to treat their choices as a selfish display. Self-preservation is normal. Examine the factors that limited their choices. That's where the course of the future was already decided, years ahead of time.