Throughout history, there have only been two major economic downturns. Both the Great Depression and the 2008 Recession were caused by poor financial policies and excessive spending. Both events left people feeling hopeless and vulnerable. A comparison between the Great Depression and the 2008 Recession reveals similarities in economic, social, and political causes and effects. Life after the war took its toll on many Americans. The destruction of war made many people lose faith in reason and progress. Some people have become existentialists, that is, people who believe that the world has no meaning. Writers showed the horrors of life after the war, artists rebelled against traditional paintings, and composers began to create music with unusual rhythms and harsh sounds. While the American economy was growing rapidly, people were struggling. Workers could not buy enough goods, and when their purchases slowed, production in factories slowed as well. Farmers have faced slow sales and low prices. These farmers were unable to repay their loans and most lost their land. The war brought confusion to many Americans and changed their way of life, leading to the Great Depression. After the economic boom of the 1920s, Americans began buying a surplus of unnecessary products. Women began to change the way they lived. The end of the Cold War was marked by the fall of the Berlin Wall. Around this time, many other European communist nations also began to fall. Some have pointed out that there was no clear winner in the Cold War. However, thousands of Americans lost their lives in proxy wars in Korea and Vietnam. “People believed that the military spending policies of the Reagan-Bush years were pushing the Soviets to the brink of economic collapse. » However, Americans hoped to remain safe and secure and