Table of Contents

Contents: Introduction - The uses (and abuses) of affluence, Lawrence Black and Hugh Pemberton; Affluence, conservatism and political competition in Britain and the United States, 1945-64, Brian Girvin; Modernizing Britain's Welfare State: the influence of affluence, 1957-64, Rodney Lowe; The forgotten revisionist: Douglas Jay and Britain's transition to affluence, 1951-64, Richard Toye; Total abstinence and a good filing-system? Anthony Crosland and the affluent society, Catherine Ellis; The impression of affluence: political culture in the 1950s and 1960s, Lawrence Black; Affluence, relative decline and the Treasury, Hugh Pemberton; Economists and economic growth in Britain, c.1955-65, Roger Middleton; The polyester-flannelled philanthropists: the Birmingham consumers' group and affluent Britain, Mathew Hilton; Anticipating affluence: skill, judgement and the problems of aesthetic tutelage, Lesley Whitworth; 'Selling youth in the age of affluence': marketing to youth in Britain since 1959, Christian Bugge; Losing the peace: Germany, Japan, America and the shaping of British national identity in the age of affluence, Richard Weight; Bibliography; Index.

About the Author

Lawrence Black, Durham University, UK and Hugh Pemberton, University of Bristol, UK Lawrence Black, Hugh Pemberton, Brian Girvin, Rodney Lowe, Richard Toye, Catherine Ellis, Roger Middleton, Mathew Hilton, Lesley Whitworth, Christian Bugge, Richard Weight.

Reviews

'Challenging familiar views of Britain's postwar decline, this provocative and wide-ranging collection focuses on growing affluence as a more appropriate framework for understanding political, social and economic developments during the 1950s and 1960s. Illuminating essays on political culture, consumerism, industrial design, youth marketing and economic policy offer a persuasive reinterpretation of Britain's new "golden age". This is a valuable scholarly addition to the literature on the period.' Fred M. Leventhal, Professor of History, Boston University 'An Affluent Society is an original contribution to British contemporary history. It is generally lively but in no way superficial, and deserves to be included on the reading lists of second- and third-year undergraduate courses on postwar British history. And it will also act as a useful secondary source for postgraduate students looking for background information and starting-points for dissertations or theses on social, economicand political developments in postwar Britain.' EH.NET '... an important and extremely useful contribution to the literature on post-war Britain. It will be essential reading for political, economic, social and cultural historians of Britain after 1945, as well as academics in other fields such as politics and sociology... accessible for both undergraduate and graduate students. All in all, An Affluent Society? pushes forward our understanding not only of affluence, but of post-war Britain itself.' English Historical Review