British Pop Culture

1.) a-
The "state of prosperity" is that most people have never seen as good. This means over the years it has gotten better for people.
b-
Source B is discussing the discontent of women during the 1950s. Therefore drugs were taken in order to provide the content women needed to fulfill the "feminine mystique."

2.) The consumer society is put into a good and productive light in Source A. Source A states the consumerism gave the society a "state of prosperity." However, source C makes it seem as if consumerism has overtaken and "gurantee[s] a special personality." Source C states he wasn't much born but rather fell out. Existence has been paved for him by this consumer society. Source A assumes people have never seen it this good but Source C begs to differ.

3.) Source A is from a politician (Conservative Prime Minster Harold MacMillan). Source C is from a musician or otherwise common person in Britain. The perspective and purpose of each is drastically different. Granted,each on is trying to express details about the society in which they live. Source A's origin is at a rally and the Prime Minster is trying to portray a progressive happy society "that has never seen it as good as it is now." However, Source C is saying otherwise. They don't like the society which has been forced upon them. The musical group the Clash believes the society is becoming increasingly commercialized and too focused on consumerism. Also the Clash sings about depersonalizing society and about suburban alienation and the feelings of disillusionment that come through youth in modern society. Source A has a limitation that involves politics. He states "go around and see.." he isn't conversing or embedding himself into the society in which he's "seeing." So the question arises of how does he know what he's seeing is as good as it gets? Source C is the common man who is going to the supermarket experiencing daily life and basically hating what Source A says is great. The limitations of Source C is that The Clash was known for embedding their leftist ideology into their music. They were a rebellious punk rock group that most likely went against what the norm of society was and therefore can not be deemed reliable for a common man viewpoint.
Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_in_the_Supermarket
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Clash

4.) By going to a consumer economy it ensured a higher living standard throughout the 1950s and on through the 80s. Due to more technology a larger amount of products was being produced. Therefore the output was high and people needed to buy more of the high output for it to all 'equal out.' The consumer economy seemed to start out as a good political and social intention for the better but over the years it has eaten up the good intention and gotten out of control. As Source C states the consumer economy consumes the population, molds it into a personality. It began a discontentment among people such as source B who took drugs in order to "rise above" the norm or feminine mystique of the consumer economy norm. The interesting factor is that it went from an economic goal in the 50s to a lifestyle overtime.
Source: http://www.globalissues.org/article/236/creating-the-consumer