Actually, I agree. Trying to relate economic and social factors to art and design in a simple way is always prone to oversimplification. But I enjoyed the fact that the writer mounted an argument rather than sat on the fence, and I always appreciate some attempt to situate design against a larger economic and historical backdrop rather than pretending that these things just arise in a vacuum, because they don’t. But you’re right. No two economic crises are exactly the same, nor are the cultural climates that accompany them all that similar. Two wars and a truly serious depression, all taken together, probably created long-lasting habits of thrift, responsibility and living within one’s means (my grandfather washing and re-washing tinfoil) that we just may not see this time. And this time people’s need for cheapness may simply result in years of buying from IKEA rather than in the appearance of another Eames. If IKEA’s products lasted as long as an Eames chair, and if they weren’t made of toxic particleboard, things would feel more positive. But as you say, who knows!