I think the main thing is that we have moved in a sort of pipeline of economic progress. Step one is to do something manually, step two is to optimize and mechanize. First farming by hand, then with animal help, then mechanized, then controlled with breeding and genetics. Second making things by artisan one at a time, then assembly line breakdowns, then machine enhanced assembly. Third, distribution goes from needing many places where goods are produced, to centralized production and dispersed distribution centers, to just-in-time distribution with complex inventory minimizing scheduling and forecasting. In general, production goes up, prices go down, and displaced people move on to new, usually less demanding work.
This is all good, and has made things more affordable and in fact has driven people to buy more luxuries unheard of 50 years ago, and has driven innovators to create new products. But what if we are in the position we are in today? People seem to believe that there is doom on the horizon and that investment banks going under will take the rest of the economy with them. Sure, the commodities and housing bubbles popped, leaving large investors with huge losses, but the consuming machine is still going. I don't think a financial sector crunch is going to hit the little guy very hard at all. I predict a mild 6-month max deflationary period before there is a return to a healthy low level of inflation.