New American Excellence

In addition to sweeping economic impact for American businesses, this phenomenon had political, cultural, and environmental ramifications. America's political power rose in the last century as a result of impressive economic performance. The decline in the US businesses led to erosion of America's political leverage abroad. Many countries increasingly looked east for a new rising superpower.

A vast literature has been produced on the cultural and social effects of mass production of low-priced goods. This discussion is beyond the scope of this article, but it is worth mentioning that mass production flooded the market with cheap goods that were designed to last for a limited period of time. On an individual level, easy access to cheap goods meant that American consumers developed a mundane materialistic relationship to household products: they would use them for a short time, become tired of them soon, and replace them. On a national level, Americans celebrated their success in generating enormous wealth, but their sense of national pride dissociated from American products. While Germans pride themselves in their Mercedes, and the French in their fine wines and scrumptious Brie, Americans saw no reason to link national pride to low-quality Ford or fatty burgers.