Social Science (087) — AI-generated practice question

The widespread use of hire purchase (credit in weekly/monthly instalments) to buy consumer durables reveals that, despite mass production lowering the prices of goods like cars and refrigerators, workers' incomes were still insufficient to pay for them outright. Mass production made goods affordable in theory, but ordinary wage earners could only access them by borrowing. This shows a gap between production capacity and actual purchasing power — the economy sustained consumption through credit rather than through adequately high incomes, making the prosperity of the 1920s fragile and debt-dependent.

Source: Chapter 3, Section 3.3 — Rise of Mass Production and Consumption

---

The examiner expects three linked ideas worth 1 mark each:

1. Mass production lowered prices — Fordist methods reduced the cost of durables.
2. Wages were still insufficient for outright purchase — hence hire purchase was necessary.
3. Credit bridged the gap — prosperity was debt-driven, not income-driven, making it unstable.

Avoid simply defining hire purchase; the question asks what it tells us, so analysis of the production–income gap is essential. The fragility angle (hinting at the Depression) is a bonus point that shows deeper understanding.