Moreover, the talk of a ‘classless’ society in 1945 was possibly one of the first direct social ambitions regarding the consequences of the war. However, the image of society remained largely unaltered from where it had left off in 1939 as the working class still saw themselves as ‘Us’ and the middle and upper classes as ‘Them’, isolating any kind of social mergence. The ‘private’ sector could be seen as one of the reasons for which class existed, due to factors such as private insurance schemes, private medical services, private building industry and a capitalist housing market. The idea of ‘community’ played a large role within each social class but remained alien to each other and only played part when confronted with large social threats such as world war, where British patriotism intervened. Additionally, British historian Kenneth O. Morgan argued that “the profile of class structure, or even simply the distribution of wealth, showed relatively little change between 1945 and 1951 due to the privatization of British life”. Social anthropologist Ernest Gellner explains that a large social shift occurred from the ‘ordered, stable, agriculturally based society’ of the eighteenth century to the ‘vast, crowded yet anonymous’ urbanised British society where relationships were ‘more fluid and more random.’
On the other hand, historians such as Peter Hennessy debated that the Second World War “accelerated and extended [...] so many other areas of national life”, complimenting Ross McKibbin’s studies which suggested that the working class had experienced a positive outcome from the war, as it boosted ‘social esteem and political power’ along with ‘a mild redistribution of income due to the abolition of large scale unemployment’. The British working class achieved better living standards, notably as the average weekly wage rose from £6 eight shillings in 1950 to £11 two shillings in 1959. This provided larger consumer opportunity, which arguably widened the working class as they started to indulge in the widespread luxury of booming consumerism. British Historian Jony Judt explained that with rising real wages, working class families could survive on the income of the primary wage earner, whereas if both parents worked, the family could taste the lavishness the affluent society. This increase in disposable income meant that many working class families could afford commodities such as cars and washing machines, which previously could only be afforded by the middle and upper classes. This is argued by Andrew Marr as he states “as they acquired their new cars and explored their new supermarkets [...] a new country was breaking through – brightly coloured, fashionable, less masculine.” Thus showing the working class’s centrifugal movement towards the middle class, however this did not create a classless society as this new wealthier working class still maintained their consciousness and class identity.
Paradoxically, various attempts of social union, whether purposely or not, can be seen throughout the second half of the twentieth century as
Consecutive Conservative and Labour governments following 1945 introduced various social and educational reforms. These included acts such as the introduction of the publically funded National Health Service on July 5 1948, which provided free long term health care to all tax payers. Other reforms consisted of the inauguration of the social security scheme ‘National Insurance’; both of which had the effect of reducing the poverty line and increasing social mobility for the working classes. The main initiative of social mobility instigated by the post-war governments was that of the reformation of educational institutions and policies. These were introduced by Rab Butler in 1944, which created a tripartite system of secondary education, which was considered by politicians, both contemporary and current, as a quiet revolution of social reform. Marr argues that “the old distinctions were softening [...] as increasing numbers would make it to university too, and extra 30000 a year by 1950.” This demonstrates increased social mobility for the working class children to gain an education and career prospects which had previously been the privilege of the middle and upper classes. These educational reforms also affected the upper classes as attempts were made to reform the public schools where “a watered down scheme would have seen Eton and the rest obliged to take working class and middle class children, funded by local authorities.” Thus proving that, as Churchill mentions, “the advantages and privileges have hitherto been enjoyed by the few shall be far more widely shared by the many.”
Furthermore, this suggested that it was no longer obligatory to be a part of the upper and middle classes to enjoy the full extent of the British education system. This can be seen as previous cabinets had been composed of ‘etonian’ publically schooled ministers. However, by 1979 the conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was the daughter of a Grantham born green grocer, indicating that social mobility had increased dramatically since Butler’s education act of 1944. Although, this does not indicate a classless society despite the increase of social mobility, class consciousness remained prevalent as there was still opposition and snobbery towards Thatcher from the establishment and her own party.
In conclusion, the reforms introduced by various governments and the impact of consumerism in the fifties and sixties did not essentially lead to Britain becoming a classless society. It helped emerge the working class and improve their situation but did not merge them with the middle and upper classes, mainly because they composed 70% of the British population after the Second World War and it was not necessary for them to unite with the minority of the population. It was the widening of the working class through the improvement of publically funded institutions such as the National Health Service and the wage rise of the fifties that rendered the working class more socially active in regard to public spending and mobility.
On the surface, class was perceived as irrelevant and outdated as modern generations enjoyed the same education, opportunities, popular culture and leisure time which suggests that distinctions of the old social classes disappeared. However, this was not the case as we still define ourselves by our origins, as seen is ‘Britain Today’ (2007) where bank managers, traditionally a position of the middle classes, defined themselves as working class – showing that social mobility had increased opportunities although this did not affect the way define ourselves, this can be seen as Cannadine argued that “it is widely believed, both in Britain and abroad, that the British are obsessed with class in a way that other nations are obsessed with food or race or sex or drugs or alcohol.” Overall this indicates that Britain never was a classless society, despite social reforms that blurred the lines of distinction between the social classes and on the surface erased divisions within society. Below the surface people still defined themselves by their upbringing the social class of their parents, making it obvious that Britain remained a social divided nation, although this is seen as the younger generations as irrelevant. But this does not mean that they are any less important.
Word Count: 1941
Bibliography
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