In the 1950s I first heard the phrase "Today's luxury is tomorrow's necessity" - Ludwig von Mises. I was about 12 years old or so and we had recently moved into a new house where we had not one, but two carpets! The floors underneath were shiny composition not clay tiles.
There were no latches on the doors, but handles. We had a bathroom upstairs, not in a lean-to outside on the back porch. The house was insulated, warm and welcoming with big windows and high ceilings.
Electric fires set in the walls in every room even the bedrooms meant no more frosted windows on winter mornings. Except my bedroom which was basically a box room - I had a free standing electric fire which I piled some magazines on, forgot and switched it on before my bath - yup they caught fire, but no lasting damage except to prove to everyone that "my head was in the clouds"
We had a 14inch TV and our radio didn't have big valves and batteries. A bus stop was right outside the house so no more long walks into the village to even buy a loaf of bread.
I wondered how all of the above could become necessary?
We lived in a tied house as Dad was a Policeman but most people rented. It wasn't necessary to buy your own house. My father cultivated the garden, we ate well of our own produce and bottled the surplus.
We had even started to buy clothes in shops rather than making them. Shoes were mended with new stick on soles rather than going to the Snobs or Cobblers.
We really were very well off and knew it.
All of this was the height of luxury to me. We had no fridge, washing machine, phone, car or holidays these were luxuries how could they become necessary?
What will be tomorrow's necessities?
We bought our first TV in May 1953 when I was 18 specifically to watch the coronation in June. We had neighbours round because we were the first in the street to have a TV. It was about a 14" Echo, black and white of course. Colour TV was not even talked about because the concept was not generally known.
