Did Britain become a Classless Society after 1945?

Did Britain become a Classless Society after 1945? Matthew Woodward - The Road from 1945: Britain since the Second World War Social class in Britain played a key factor in determining a citizen's wealth, political power, education opportunities and more generally a person's lifestyle. The Cambridge International Dictionary of English defines class as "a group of people within society who have the same economical and social position" whilst Karl Marx argued that class was an 'economic category'1. Towards the end of the Second World War it was becoming increasingly suggestive that the British social classes were beginning to merge together in order to form what for former Prime Minister Harold Wilson once described as a 'classless' society. Social classes in Britain are traced back as far as the Industrial Revolution, seeing that it provided different parts of the country with various speeds of progress. The struggle of the working class and the dominance of capitalism highlighted class importance all throughout the nineteenth and most of the twentieth century. Since 1945, political events, traditions, national characteristics and consequences of the war all had an impact on the forms of class. Social analyst Michael Young argued that 'the lower classes no longer have a distinctive ideology with the ethos of society'2 suggesting that there was no reason for the British working

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Historical and Philosophical studies
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Nuclear Deterrence: Have nuclear weapons deterred India and Pakistan from going to war?

Q. Nuclear Deterrence: Have nuclear weapons deterred India and Pakistan from going to war? Introduction The aim of this report is to see whether the nuclear weapons protect a country by deterring potential aggressors from attacking. By threatening massive retaliation, the argument goes; nuclear weapons prevent an attacker India and Pakistan from starting a war and make south Asia safer. .0 Why is it important case in the international relations? .1 The understanding of nuclear weapons acting as a deterrent could create incentives among non nuclear states to consider developing nuclear capability. .2 It is big issue because the rest of the world will take lessons from the South Asian situation. If countries decide that Pakistan withstood pressure from militarily stronger India, they might view nuclear weapons as a positive asset. If they see that nuclear weapons internationalized the conflict, making it more difficult for either country to pursue its national interests, nuclear weapons might appear less attractive. .3 Countries that might consider nuclear weapons, particularly certain countries in the Middle East will watch to see how the world, especially the United States. States want to know the international cost of developing such weapons. Most countries, however, will decide whether to pursue nuclear capability based on their perceptions of their own interests,

  • Word count: 1821
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Historical and Philosophical studies
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President Reagan on a Mission: How the Aggressive Nature of the Reagan Administration aided the Cease of Soviet Communism.

President Reagan on a Mission: How the Aggressive Nature of the Reagan Administration aided the Cease of Soviet Communism Abstract This research paper examines the difficulties and triumphs that former President Ronald Reagan encountered with the former Soviet Union and the spread of communism throughout the globe, emphasizing the insurgencies in Afghanistan and Nicaragua. During his first years as President, Ronald Reagan took a much more aggressive stance, as opposed to former President Carter, at containing and defeating the spread of Marxists insurgencies to the realm of rhetoric in areas such as Nicaragua and Afghanistan. I was able to use released, formally secret, Central Intelligence Agency documents to help analyze the military affects that the rhetoric and aggressiveness from President Reagan's policy brought. Former presidents appeared to create solutions but were never implemented for fear of political struggle with the already busy armed forces. This was part of President Reagan's plan of increasing the militaries budget, to show that retaliation was indeed possible and inevitable if the Soviet Union felt it necessary to flex its muscles and push forward into the Americas and Middle East with communism. While doing research I came across an article

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Historical and Philosophical studies
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'To what extent was there a systemic crisis in Eastern Europe during the 1980's?'

'To what extent was there a systemic crisis in Eastern Europe during the 1980's?' There was not one issue affecting Eastern Europe to suggest that there was 'a systemic crisis' during the 1980's, but rather a series of broad systemic crises affecting Eastern Europe. These crises had different effects in different countries and each problem had a different role to play in the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. The most major of these problems was the economic crisis that had severely affected every economy in Eastern Europe. The late 1980's saw the emergence of new leaders and organisations in countries that ran counter to the communist hegemony and these groups were able to gain the people's support or influence there opinions. They criticised the regime for the poor economic situation and at the lack of pluralism because, to this generation the communist ideology had lost its legitimacy to govern unopposed. The people of Eastern Europe increasingly learnt of life in the West as more information seeped in. The people also experienced Western culture via the booming black market in Western consumer goods being run under the help of corrupt officials. The reforms of Gorbachev in the late 1980's were also a major factor in why the crisis in Eastern Europe came to a head at the time that it did, this has to be considered when answering the question. The Communist system

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Historical and Philosophical studies
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Why did the communist regimes in eastern Europe break down so quickly after 1989?

WHY DID THE COMMUNIST REGIMES IN EASTERN EUROPE BREAK DOWN SO QUICKLY AFTER 1989? WHAT HAVE BEEN THE MAJOR CONSEQUENCES FOR EUROPEAN POLITICS? In the immediate view, it seems that there are many reasons for the collapse of the Eastern European communist regimes after 1989. Many political analysts argue that it was due to the rise to power of Mikhail Gorbachev, others that it was just a matter of time before this happened. It is the aim of this essay to give substantial evidence as to why communist regimes broke down so quickly after 1989. In order to accomplish this, the essay will firstly outline the causes of the revolution of 1989 - the event that triggered the fall of communism. Secondly we will discover why this break down of seemingly rigid communist regimes was so quick to take place. Finally, the essay will assess exactly what the major consequences for European Politics have been since the fall of communism in 1989. In 1989, state communism crumbled in Central and Eastern Europe, this was most important for the countries involved but also had a great bearing on European and World Politics. Prior to 1989 there had always been much speculation concerning the future of the communist states, but it had always been misleading. Through all these predictions however, two stood out. In Jürg Steiner's book - European Democracies - we are given the view of Jeane

  • Word count: 2239
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Historical and Philosophical studies
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Persian Gulf War Analysis

An Effective Use of Power? A look at the Persian Gulf War and the War in Iraq During the United States brief history, it has rarely been in a situation where it was directly threatened by a nation. This does not mean that it has not stepped in on plenty of conflicts though. As a super-power, and more recently a hegemonic power, the role of the United States has been to ensure the safety of not only its citizens, but of all human beings. In a more recent situation, the invasion of Kuwait was no exception to the responsibilities of the United States. What this paper discusses is whether the United States role in the Persian Gulf War was justified and that they did everything they could before relying on military action. International organizations have fought long and hard to develop international law focused on the law of war. Initially, these laws focused on the issues of traditional state-versus-state warfare. With the new age of warfare, international law must also attempt to regulate revolutionary and internal warfare and terrorism. In order to exemplify these diverse concerns, we must determine when a war is necessary and how it should be fought. This is when the "just war" theory comes into play. The "just war" theory consists of two parts: The cause of war and the conduct of war. It is mainly believed that the just cause of war (jus ad bellum) exists in cases where

  • Word count: 3491
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Historical and Philosophical studies
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Discuss the various ways in which the development of nuclear weapons had an influence on the course of the cold war.

JON PRICE GV103 DISCUSS THE VARIOUS WAYS IN WHICH THE DEVELOPMENT OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS HAD AN INFLUENCE ON THE COURSE OF THE COLD WAR The Cold War was a turbulent and tense time between the two post war superpowers; the USA and the USSR. Throughout this era of fear and paranoia there were several events which served to dramatically raise pulses with both the East and West, but none as much as those where weapons of mass destruction were involved. Some of the most intense moments of the Cold War were due to the association with nuclear weapons. The threats of these new nuclear weapons of mass destruction are which caused the Cold War to nearly rise to boiling point and spill over into a hot war. The purpose of this essay is to explore what effects nuclear weapons had on the Cold War and the way it was subsequently conducted after their rise to the forefront of International Relations. In order to do this I will be exploring such areas as the development of nuclear weapons in the Arms Race, flashpoints involving nuclear weapons such as the Cuban Missile Crisis. Nuclear weapons first exploded onto the scene of both military and world politics in 1945 when the United Sates dropped the first atomic bomb on Japanese soil obliterating the city Hiroshima, followed by another being dropped on Nagasaki to end to the stalemate that WWII had become. The Japanese government subsequently

  • Word count: 2347
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Historical and Philosophical studies
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"The negative attitude of many former East Germans in the 1990's to the new unified Germany can be attributed solely to economic factors". For what reasons would you agree or disagree with this statement?

"The negative attitude of many former East Germans in the 1990's to the new unified Germany can be attributed solely to economic factors". For what reasons would you agree or disagree with this statement? The fall of the Berlin Wall on 9th November 1989 came as a result of Erich Honecker being replaced by Egon Krenz after his resignation on the 18th October 1989. Krenz attempted to win the support of the East German population by allowing them to travel into the West. The opening of the wall however had major impacts on the economy of both Eastern and Western Germany. Prior to the opening of the wall, Western Germany was one of the world's major economic powers. At that time, only Japan and the United States of America (USA) possessed a larger economy. An example of the strength of the West Germany Economy at this time is the fact that in 1988, West Germans exported goods to the value of 568 Billion DM. Furthermore, the rate of unemployment was virtually zero and well below the average of the EU (EU). It is important to note that Germany is the most populous member of the EU, with some 81 million inhabitants and it is the third largest country in the EU, covering an area of approximately 357,000 Km². On the other hand, the East German Economy was in an extremely unstable position in 1989. The quality of produce had taken a sharp fall and there were many consumer

  • Word count: 1257
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Historical and Philosophical studies
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How did life in the Soviet Union change in the period 1953 to 1985?

How did life in the Soviet Union change in the period 1953 to 1985? In 1953, the reign of Stalin came to an end leaving a power struggle behind him, from 1953 to 1958 there was no obvious winner, although there was no lack of competition. Nikita Khrushchev pulled himself away from the other contenders by making the Secret Speech to the 20th Congress. This speech was in favour for De-Stalinisation, it meant that people no longer had to be afraid of what they said or worry each time there was a knock on the door for fear of being arrested. Millions of people were released from prisons and camps and spread the word of the evil regime of Stalin. This later won the leadership for Khrushchev to lead in power. Khrushchev introduced many new different schemes for agriculture and industry. There were the Virgin Land Schemes, 13 million hectares in the West would be ploughed up and 20 million tonnes of grain would be produced. Collective farms were reduced in numbers, and tractor farms were closed down, instead tractors were produced for the farms. However, the tractors were often faulty and new parts and replacements were hard to get. Khrushchev also thought that growing maize would be a good idea because it would give food for the animals and produce grain. However, Khrushchev did not plan these schemes very well, he generalised too much and geographically the site was not good.

  • Word count: 531
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Historical and Philosophical studies
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A history to overcome

A history to overcome Indigenous Australians have experienced many setbacks throughout their long history. Extreme climates, colonization, and the stolen generations; just to name a few of the many challenges Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders have endured. Most have overcome these past disputes. However, in Australia today, there is a prominent gap forming between Indigenous Australians and the rest of the population. Indigenous people in contemporary Australia face discrimination that leads to a decline in housing, health, educational conditions. Housing and land rights have become a major issue for Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders. In 2007, the Federal Government, under John Howard introduced the Northern Territory National Emergency Response. This was implemented after the release of the Little Children are Sacred report that claimed that the child sexual abuse rate was extremely high in Indigenous communities. One of the numerous measures taken in the intervention was the acquisition of land held under the Native Title Act 1993 established in the Mabo vs. Queensland case (World News Australia). The Native Title Act 1993 includes rights to: live on the region, access it for traditional purposes, hunt and fish, and teach customs on the land (Native Title). The intervention took this land away from the Indigenous population and is currently holding it with five

  • Word count: 1099
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Historical and Philosophical studies
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