Revision notes - British Welfare State, Economics - Keynsianism, monetarism and liberalism

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Chapter 6 Notes:

  1.  British Welfare State
  • Sir William Beveridge:  social security is necessary but should not stifle incentive, opportunity or responsibility
  • Provide a minimum to live but leave room for people to strive to obtain more than the minimum
  • Britain established several acts to provide some social security (social safety nets, social programs)
  • “post war consensus”:  when both the collectivist Labour Party and the Individualist conservative Party agreed help was needed
  • Start of the growth of modern liberalism internationally – some social programs, to assist people – employment insurance, assistance to elderly , child care and health care
  1.  Post War Economy – Canada
  • Page 215
  • Strengthened social programs
  • Create of welfare state ideas:
  • Universal health care
  • Old age security
  • Foreign investment review agency
  • CRTC
  • Moved towards Modern liberalism – abandoning the more ‘free market’ ideas for some government intervention
  1.  Economic Crisis:  1970s
  • Causes:  
  • 1.  Withdrawal from Bretton Woods agreement
  • These countries no longer had to use price of gold to determine worth of currency
  • World currencies freely floated on markets – led to inflation and slowing of economic activities
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  • Arab-Israeli War (4th)
  • OPEC – 5 month embargo on oil to US and Netherlands (supporting Israel)
  • reduced production –prices skyrocketed - gas shortages in US – consumer goods rose – prices rose – economic slowdown and inflation
  • led to the need to change economic strategy
  • liberal democracies faced a slowdown in the economy (recession) and inflation  - Stagflation
  • British PM Callaghan realized that they could no longer spend their way out of recession (Keynesian economics wasn’t working!!)

  1.   A New Way of thinking:  Monetarism
  • Recession of 1970s led to a pendulum swing ...

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