After World War II, the USA enjoyed unparalleled prosperity while Europe and much of the rest of the world suffered from devastation, lack of food and other necessities, and unemployment. The American Marshall Plan assisted Europe greatly in its recovery from the war and helped Europeans learn the 'American way' of doing things. Europeans began changing their economy by themselves and becames consumers as well as producers. This prosperity lasted until 1973, when the certainty of cheap oil and a world dominated by the West was over. It was the beginning of the end of the greatest boom of the century.