<Ul> <Li> Establishments </Li> <Li> Disestablishments </Li> </Ul> <P> The 1960s (pronounced "nineteen - sixties") was a decade that began on 1 January 1960, and ended on 31 December 1969 . The term "1960s" also refers to an era more often called the Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends around the globe . This "cultural decade" is more loosely defined than the actual decade, beginning around 1963 with the Kennedy assassination and ending around 1974 with the Watergate scandal . </P> <P> "The Sixties", as they are known in both scholarship and popular culture, is a term used by historians, journalists, and other objective academics; in some cases nostalgically to describe the counterculture and revolution in social norms about clothing, music, drugs, dress, sexuality, formalities, and schooling; and in others pejoratively to denounce the decade as one of irresponsible excess, flamboyance, and decay of social order . The decade was also labeled the Swinging Sixties because of the fall or relaxation of social taboos especially relating to racism and sexism that occurred during this time . Commentator Christopher Booker described this era as a classical Jungian nightmare cycle, where a rigid culture, unable to contain the demands for greater individual freedom, broke free of the social constraints of the previous age through extreme deviation from the norm . He charts the rise, success, fall / nightmare and explosion in the London scene of the 1960s . Several Western nations such as the United States, United Kingdom, France, and West Germany turned to the political left in the early and mid-1960s . </P> <P> By the end of the 1950s, war - ravaged Europe had largely finished reconstruction and began a tremendous economic boom . World War II had brought about a huge leveling of social classes in which the remnants of the old feudal gentry disappeared . There was a major expansion of the middle class in western European countries and by the 1960s, many working - class people in Western Europe could afford a radio, television, refrigerator, and motor vehicle . Meanwhile, the East such as the Soviet union and other Warsaw Pact countries were improving quickly after rebuilding from WWII . The United States, after sluggish economic growth during the 1950s, also experienced a major' 60s boom . Real GDP growth averaged 6% a year during the second half of the decade . Thus, the overall worldwide economic trend in the 1960s was one of prosperity, expansion of the middle class, and the proliferation of new domestic technology . </P>

What was the social climate during the mid 1960s