State and Society
A Social and Political History of Britain since 1870
6th Edition
Published on 10. February 2022
Book
Hardback
616 pages
978-1-350-24309-5 (ISBN)
Description
Covering the major social and political events of British history from the late Victorian era through to the present day, the 6th edition of this landmark textbook helps students critically examine the relationship between the British state and its citizens. With accessible and engaging prose, the book guides students through a mix of chronological and thematic coverage connecting key political, economic and social changes, helping them examine the main themes and trends in British political history.
Newly featuring definitions of key terms, and with 20 additional illustrations, the 6th edition has also been updated to cover events since the 2015 general election, including:
- The 2017 and 2019 general elections
- The Brexit vote and negotiations
- The COVID-19 pandemic
- The resignation of David Cameron, the fall of Theresa May, and the rise of Boris Johnson
- The rise of cultural politics, including feminism, Black Lives Matter, the centralisation of government and identity politics
This book is essential for anyone looking to for an introduction to modern British social and political history.
Newly featuring definitions of key terms, and with 20 additional illustrations, the 6th edition has also been updated to cover events since the 2015 general election, including:
- The 2017 and 2019 general elections
- The Brexit vote and negotiations
- The COVID-19 pandemic
- The resignation of David Cameron, the fall of Theresa May, and the rise of Boris Johnson
- The rise of cultural politics, including feminism, Black Lives Matter, the centralisation of government and identity politics
This book is essential for anyone looking to for an introduction to modern British social and political history.
Reviews / Votes
Martin Pugh's State and Society has become something of a classic of its type: its punchy, provocative prose makes it the first book on any list of recommendations to students new to studying British political history. * Lewis Mates, Associate Professor in Political Theory, Durham University, UK * State and Society continues to engage the reader thanks to the ambition, relevance, and clarity of its coverage. But its bold avoidance of fence-sitting also means that, six editions in, there is still much to chew over. * Dr Christopher Prior, Associate Professor in Colonial and Postcolonial History, University of Southampton, UK * Pugh's State and Society remains an outstanding overview of Britain from the 1870s into the 2020s, weaving together politics, economics, and social life. State and Society is engagingly written, offering a rigorous and critical view of the period, and it is a must-read for students of citizenship in Britain. * Kate Bradley, Reader in Social History and Social Policy, University of Kent, UK *More details
Edition
6th edition
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
42 bw illus
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Weight
1030 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-350-24309-5 (9781350243095)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
01/2022
6th Edition
Bloomsbury Academic
€31.99
Available for download
Person
Martin Pugh was Professor of British History at Newcastle University, UK and Research Professor in History at Liverpool John Moores University, UK. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, a member of the advisory panel of the BBC History Magazine, and the author of over twelve books on nineteenth- and twentieth-century history. His previous publications include Women and the Women's Movement in Britain 1914-1959, A Companion to Modern European History 1871-1945, The Pankhursts: The History of One Radical Family, Speak for Britain: A New History of the Labour Party and We Danced All Night: A Social History of Britain Between the Wars.
Content
List of Illustrations
List of Tables and Figures
Preface
Part I: The Loss of Confidence, 1870-1902
1. The Retreat of the Industrial Revolution
The beginnings of decline?
Britain and free trade
The banks and the question of investment
The problem of entrepreneurship
Industrialization in perspective
2. Not Quite a Democracy
The system of government
Gladstone and Victorian Liberalism
The impact of parliamentary reform
The Conservative revival under Disraeli and Salisbury
Socialism and the rise of the Labour Movement
3. The Victorian State and its People
The rising standard of living
The persistence of mass poverty
Popular attitudes towards the state and self-help
The growth of local government
Ideas and experiments in social welfare
4. Victorian Values: Myth and Reality
The expansion of the state
The angel in the house
Marriage and the family
Population and sex
First-wave feminism
Victorian indulgences
Work, leisure and improvement
5. British National Identity: Unity and Division
The Union with Scotland
The integration of Wales with Britain
Ireland: the threat to the Union
Religion and national identity
Migration and immigration
Monarchy and national identity
The Victorian class struggle
6. Isolation and Expansion
The defence of the realm
The new imperialism
Was the Empire popular?
British militarism
Part II: The Reorientation: The Emergence of the Interventionist State, 1902-18
7. The State, Social Welfare and the Economy
Liberal social reform
Popular attitudes to state welfare
The taxation revolution
The state and the economy
8. The Liberal-Labour Alliance
The politics of the People's Budget
The Conservative dilemma
Labour's turning-point
9. Crisis and Controversy in Edwardian Britain
Class struggle and class collaboration
The challenge of feminism
The Irish Question
Plans for war
An ungovernable society?
10. Politics and Society in the Great War
The Continental commitment
State intervention in the economy
Coalition politics
Social reconstruction
The Lost Generation
Mass war and popular participation
Part III: The Period of Confusion: Collectivism versus Capitalism, 1918-40
11. The Failure of Laissez-faire
The legacy of war
The return to gold
Unemployment
Capitalism, Socialism and Keynesianism
Economic recovery in the 1930s
12. Mass Democracy in an Age of Decline
National identity between the wars
Structural changes in politics
The first Labour government
The General Strike and the 1929 election
The National Governments
The Labour revival, 1935-9
Why was Britain so stable?
The challenge of British fascism
13. The Era of Domesticity
The rising standard of living
The housing revolution
Leisure and consumerism
Women, family and marriage
Social welfare and income distribution
14. Imperial Climax and Decline
Defence and disarmament
Popular opposition to war
The Empire and nationalism
Appeasement and rearmament
Part IV: Consensus: The Age of the Benign State, 1940-70
15. The People's War
Breaking the mould
Mass war and social change
The origins of the post-war consensus
The collapse of British power
1945: the Labour landslide
16. The Keynesian Era
Planning and the mixed economy
The welfare state
The politics of consensus
The affluent society
Adjusting to decline
Challenges to the political system
17. The Permissive Society
Liberal reform
The family and marriage
Limited emancipation for women
The rise of an educated society
The reaction
Race and immigration
18. The Loss of Great Power Status
Cold War defence
Decolonization
Reluctantly into Europe
Part V The Era of Reaction and Decline, 1970-2020
19. The Breakdown of the Post-war Consensus, 1970-9
Heath and the crisis of Conservatism
Multi-party politics
The decline of Labour
The origins of Thatcherism
20. The Era of Thatcherism
Monetarism and depression
Delusions of grandeur
Breaking the mould of politics
The growth of poverty and inequality
Rolling back the state
Presidential government and the limited revolution
The crisis over Europe
21. New Labour and the Blair Era
Continuity or change?
Social and political reform
The British presidency
Changes in the political system
The Iraq War and the attack on civil liberties
The crisis of national identity
22. Crisis and Coalition
The banking crisis and economic recession, 2007-15
The coalition era
The growth of poverty and inequality
National disunity
23 Brexit and the Pandemic
Theresa May's Government
Why Did the Public Change Its Mind about Brexit?
The Impact of Brexit
The Premiership of Boris Johnson
Why Did Britain Fail to Manage the Pandemic ?
What Was the Impact of the Pandemic ?
2021: The Dual Crisis
Index
List of Tables and Figures
Preface
Part I: The Loss of Confidence, 1870-1902
1. The Retreat of the Industrial Revolution
The beginnings of decline?
Britain and free trade
The banks and the question of investment
The problem of entrepreneurship
Industrialization in perspective
2. Not Quite a Democracy
The system of government
Gladstone and Victorian Liberalism
The impact of parliamentary reform
The Conservative revival under Disraeli and Salisbury
Socialism and the rise of the Labour Movement
3. The Victorian State and its People
The rising standard of living
The persistence of mass poverty
Popular attitudes towards the state and self-help
The growth of local government
Ideas and experiments in social welfare
4. Victorian Values: Myth and Reality
The expansion of the state
The angel in the house
Marriage and the family
Population and sex
First-wave feminism
Victorian indulgences
Work, leisure and improvement
5. British National Identity: Unity and Division
The Union with Scotland
The integration of Wales with Britain
Ireland: the threat to the Union
Religion and national identity
Migration and immigration
Monarchy and national identity
The Victorian class struggle
6. Isolation and Expansion
The defence of the realm
The new imperialism
Was the Empire popular?
British militarism
Part II: The Reorientation: The Emergence of the Interventionist State, 1902-18
7. The State, Social Welfare and the Economy
Liberal social reform
Popular attitudes to state welfare
The taxation revolution
The state and the economy
8. The Liberal-Labour Alliance
The politics of the People's Budget
The Conservative dilemma
Labour's turning-point
9. Crisis and Controversy in Edwardian Britain
Class struggle and class collaboration
The challenge of feminism
The Irish Question
Plans for war
An ungovernable society?
10. Politics and Society in the Great War
The Continental commitment
State intervention in the economy
Coalition politics
Social reconstruction
The Lost Generation
Mass war and popular participation
Part III: The Period of Confusion: Collectivism versus Capitalism, 1918-40
11. The Failure of Laissez-faire
The legacy of war
The return to gold
Unemployment
Capitalism, Socialism and Keynesianism
Economic recovery in the 1930s
12. Mass Democracy in an Age of Decline
National identity between the wars
Structural changes in politics
The first Labour government
The General Strike and the 1929 election
The National Governments
The Labour revival, 1935-9
Why was Britain so stable?
The challenge of British fascism
13. The Era of Domesticity
The rising standard of living
The housing revolution
Leisure and consumerism
Women, family and marriage
Social welfare and income distribution
14. Imperial Climax and Decline
Defence and disarmament
Popular opposition to war
The Empire and nationalism
Appeasement and rearmament
Part IV: Consensus: The Age of the Benign State, 1940-70
15. The People's War
Breaking the mould
Mass war and social change
The origins of the post-war consensus
The collapse of British power
1945: the Labour landslide
16. The Keynesian Era
Planning and the mixed economy
The welfare state
The politics of consensus
The affluent society
Adjusting to decline
Challenges to the political system
17. The Permissive Society
Liberal reform
The family and marriage
Limited emancipation for women
The rise of an educated society
The reaction
Race and immigration
18. The Loss of Great Power Status
Cold War defence
Decolonization
Reluctantly into Europe
Part V The Era of Reaction and Decline, 1970-2020
19. The Breakdown of the Post-war Consensus, 1970-9
Heath and the crisis of Conservatism
Multi-party politics
The decline of Labour
The origins of Thatcherism
20. The Era of Thatcherism
Monetarism and depression
Delusions of grandeur
Breaking the mould of politics
The growth of poverty and inequality
Rolling back the state
Presidential government and the limited revolution
The crisis over Europe
21. New Labour and the Blair Era
Continuity or change?
Social and political reform
The British presidency
Changes in the political system
The Iraq War and the attack on civil liberties
The crisis of national identity
22. Crisis and Coalition
The banking crisis and economic recession, 2007-15
The coalition era
The growth of poverty and inequality
National disunity
23 Brexit and the Pandemic
Theresa May's Government
Why Did the Public Change Its Mind about Brexit?
The Impact of Brexit
The Premiership of Boris Johnson
Why Did Britain Fail to Manage the Pandemic ?
What Was the Impact of the Pandemic ?
2021: The Dual Crisis
Index