In the stable wealthy parts of Europe & North America, a small portion of the increase in wealth created after 1945 has moved and spread itself further down the line to the new middle classes. The issue I was concerned to express was the overall direction of wealth distribution across the world after 1945; powerful literature has grown up to challenge the status quo.

The Marshall Plan had several purposes. First, the American economy needed outlets for export, and second, the entire European and Japanese economies were in ruins and debt from the war. The Marshall Plan provided much-needed trading dollars. The plan was also intended to counter the attractions of Soviet Communism and probably saved western Europe from following a socialist path. The infrastructure of Europe, including a large number of homes and factories, had been destroyed by the war.