The 2008 Financial Crisis as a Driver of Cultural Change
This paper examines the 2008 financial crisis as a catalyst for broad cultural change in the United States. Beginning with a brief historical overview of the crisis—from the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the failure of Washington Mutual to the sub-prime mortgage meltdown—the paper traces how economic distress translated into measurable shifts in political behavior, consumer attitudes, and family values. The author argues that the recession drove Americans away from credit-fueled spending toward saving and caution, while also reshaping the political landscape. The paper concludes that the cultural changes prompted by the recession may themselves serve as partial remedies to the underlying economic problems.
- Introduction: Economy as a Force of Cultural Change: Economy argued as primary driver of cultural formation
- Brief History of the Crisis and Its Causes: Lehman collapse, sub-prime mortgages, and market failure
- The Financial Crisis and Cultural Change: Political shift and changing consumer attitudes post-recession
- Shifts in Family Values and Consumer Behavior: Recession effects on families, children, and saving habits
- Potential Solutions and Conclusion: Cultural change as remedy for economic crisis
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper opens with a broad cultural framing before narrowing to the specific economic crisis, giving the argument conceptual grounding before diving into historical detail.
- It connects macro-level economic events (Lehman Brothers, Washington Mutual) to micro-level cultural consequences (family spending habits, children's values), demonstrating range of analysis.
- The use of a historical analogy—Theodore Roosevelt's 1905 stance on birth control tied to economic incentives—effectively establishes the broader thesis that economies shape culture across time.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates cause-and-effect argumentation across multiple scales: it traces a single economic event (the 2008 recession) through political, familial, and behavioral outcomes. This multi-level causal chain is supported by contemporary journalistic sources, showing how undergraduates can synthesize news and policy reporting into a coherent analytical claim.
Structure breakdown
The paper follows a classic five-part structure: an introductory claim about economies and culture, a historical background section on the crisis's origins, two analytical sections on political and social/familial change, and a brief conclusion proposing cultural change as part of the solution. Each section builds on the previous one, moving from causes to effects to remedies.
Introduction: Economy as a Force of Cultural Change
Whether you are an anthropologist or a dramatist, the word culture brings to mind various aspects of people groups. The kind of music a group enjoys, the type of food it eats, definitions of family, clothing choices, gender roles, stereotypes, values, and interests are all part of culture. But what characteristic can influence these aspects of culture more than the economy? One might answer that religion, personal beliefs, needs, or other variables certainly impact the cultural choices a people group makes more than the economy does, but a careful examination of the issue may reveal that this is not necessarily the case. Instead, personal, group, and global finances have a drastic impact on individuals, families, and therefore on culture. Cultures with greater financial freedom can devote more time to luxuries, while cultures without financial resources must spend much of their time working.
Family values shift with different economic tides, as do sexual and reproductive attitudes. A historical example illustrates this point: in 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt attacked birth control methods partly because large families were then desired for economic reasons (London, 2008). The state of the economy, therefore, has a drastic impact on cultural formation and cultural change. Today's economy is no different. The recent economic recession has drastically affected the behavior of many families, driving a broader cultural shift. By reviewing the brief history of the issue and tracing the resulting cultural changes, we can begin to look at potential solutions from a cultural standpoint.
References
Barbaro, M., & Uchitelle, L. (2008, January 14). Americans cut back sharply on spending. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/14/business/14spend.html
Banking crisis timeline. (2008, October 30). The Guardian. Retrieved November 17, 2008, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/oct/08/creditcrunch.marketturmoil
BBC. (2008, September 26). Q&A: Financial crisis and you. Retrieved November 17, 2008, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7625419.stm
It's an ill wind. (2008, October 9). The Economist. Retrieved November 17, 2008, from http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displayStory.cfm?story_id=12380943
Leigh, A. (2008, November 3). Credit card issuers struggling. Retrieved November 17, 2008, from http://www.inc.com/news/articles/2008/11/credit-cards.html
London, K. (2008). The history of birth control. Retrieved November 17, 2008, from http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1982/6/82.06.03.x.html
The financial crisis explained — how did we get here? (2008, September 25). Retrieved November 17, 2008, from
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