Standard of Living: The Measure of the Middle Class in Modern America

Coined in 1902, the term "standard of living" grew popular in early twentieth—century America. Though its exact definition remained ambiguous, it most often reflected the middle class and material comfort. The term was not a precise measure of how people lived. Instead, it embodied the ideal of how middle—class Americans wanted to live. With increasing wages and the mass production of consumer goods, the standard of living became an important expression of the shared national culture that e...