Capitalism, Culture, and Decline in Britain 1750-1990

Capitalism, Culture, and Decline in Britain 1750-1990

by W.D. Rubenstein (Author)

Synopsis

This is an original and controversial contribution to the topical debate on Britain's alleged economic decline. Rubinstein presents a critique of the thesis, made familiar by Wiener, Sampson, Barnett and others, that Britain has failed in economic terms because of its anti-industrial and pre-modern cultural values and class system. He argues that Britain was never an industrial economy, rather a commercial and financial one whose comparative advantage always lay in that area. He examines Britain's cultural values, class system and elite structure to demonstrate that these were unusually rational and modern by comparison with the more newly industrialised powers, and that features of the class system, such as the public schools, were actually instrumental in enhancing this competitive advantage. Emphasising the importance of the City of London and addressing socialism, Keynsianism and Thatcherism, Rubinstein provides an energetic and challenging contribution to this debate.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 196
Edition: 1
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 11 Dec 2015

ISBN 10: 0415037190
ISBN 13: 9780415037198

Media Reviews
Mr. Rubinstein's book is powerfully argued and, for a chronically depressed and self-deprecating nation, a much-needed corrective.
- The Economist
. . . written with wit and passion. It is a persuasive antidote to many of the cliches about British industrial decline.
- Financial Times
. . . [it] is well-written, is vigorously but courteously argued, and contains an abundance of interesting information.
- London Review of Books
. . . should be widely read.
- Times Educational Supplement