After 1945 social democratic parties gained power occasionally in western Europe. They lacked any clear 'socialist' ideology and, as in the past, they concentrated on immediate problems. Under American pressure through the Marshall Aid programme and confronting the realities they faced in operating within a capitalist economy, social democratic parties came to accept capitalism. The most they now hoped to do was make it marginally more just socially. Many, beginning with the German SPD in 1959, specifically rejected any Marxist heritage they might have had. Only in Scandinavia did they dominate politics. The most stabilizing factor in western Europe was the long post-war boom which began in the early 1950s and lasted until 1973. During a period of relatively rapid growth, low unemployment and low inflation it was easy for governments to deal with any social discontents by spending more money. Most people were satisfied with the huge growth in consumer spending, particularly when it was compared with the generally depressed inter-war years. In these circumstances there was little demand for any alternative and the loss of European power in the world passed with hardly any domestic consequences. Even when economic conditions worsened after 1973, and the effects of an increasingly global and unregulated economy were felt more acutely, there was no rise in instability.