AN AFFLUENT SOCIETY?

Despite the sense of increased affluence and social progress that was prevalent in Britain during the 1950s and 1960s, there was simultaneously, a parallel feeling that the nation was in decline and being economically outstripped by its international competitors. Whilst the study of Britain’s postwar history is a well-trodden path, and the paradox of absolute growth versus relative decline, much debated, it is here approached in a fresh and rewarding way. Rather than highlighting economic and industrial ’decline’ this volume emphasizes the tremendous impact of rising affluence and consumerism on British society. By focusing on the widespread cultural consequences of increasing levels of consumerism, emphasizing growth over decline and recognizing the rising standards of living enjoyed by most Britons, a new and intriguing window is opened on the complexities of this ’golden age’.