I imagine a future textbook might read: The petroleum age: A period where advances in chemistry and materials outpaced cultural and administrative development

I imagine a future textbook might read: The petroleum age: A period where advances in chemistry and materials outpaced cultural and administrative development. Early on, Capitalism was proven to be the most productive economic system in the war-time economy, but this posed a problem once World War 2 had ended. Western industry pivoted from war spending to consumer spending and the post war period ushered in rapid improvements in quality of life for average members of society. Unfortunately those gains came at the expense of the environment and are being paid for by the current generation and generations to come. While it took only a matter of years to transition from a war driven economy to one based on consumer goods, it took nearly a century (possibly more) to transition towards sustainable methods of production and consumption.