A single generation has witnessed the eclipse of the notions of patrimony and of fixed capital. The generation that came through the Second World War as adults were the last generation where, objects once acquired were owned in the full sense for they were the material expression of work done. It is still not very long since buying a dining-table and chairs, or a car, represented the end-point of a sustained exercise of thrift. People worked dreaming of what they might later acquire; life was lived in accordance with the puritan notion of effort and its reward - and objects finally won represented repayment for the past and security for the future. They were, in short, a capital. Today objects are with us before they are earned, they steal a march on the sum total of effort, of labour, that they embody, so that in a sense their consumption precedes their production.

In the producer culture, which was largely agricultural, one's work was the primary definition and devotion of the self. Diligence, craftsmanship and moderation were the fundamental values promoted by the religious, ethnic and community groups of the time. Social directives were clearly defined and well enforced by these cohesive groups. Ethnic and religious conformity as well as large extended families promoted an equitable distribution of wealth and division of labour. The three arenas of family, labour and religion were closely intertwined and reflected one another in daily life.

In the primarily agrarian communities typical of the nineteenth century, people were either directly involved with or in close proximity to the production of goods they consumed. People were dependent on neighbours for locally produced goods as well as a variety of services. For farming communities, public service was not an act of charity it was an obligation. Raising a barn for example was a community wide affair, unfeasible for a single family solely to accomplish or finance. In general people had a first hand knowledge of the production processes and were acquainted with the producers of goods they bought. For the most part agrarian communities were self sufficient and not entirely immersed in the interdependent, interconnected American marketplace. However, industrialization, urbanization and increased economic competition led to the demise of these communities along with the ideals rooted within them.