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British History > THEME 3: a - class & social values > Flashcards

THEME 3: a - class & social values Flashcards

1
Q

SOCIAL CLASS is…

A

the stratification of people

based on: earning, education, inheritance etc.

  • with subjective & objective principles
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2
Q

Type of employment for each social class…

A

WC = manual labour OR skilled craftsmen in factories, mines, docs etc (tight-knit community)

MC = lower: clerical jobs & small business owners, owned their home
= middle: Professionals - highly educated

UP = Families w/ inherited land/wealth/TITLES - repped I’m House Of Lords, senior members generals in WW1, tories

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3
Q

How did WW1 cause a decline in DEFERENCE?

A
  • trenches caused classes to mix & have shared experiences
  • death toll (700,000 British men died) shook confidence and respect WC had for UC generals
  • The UC also lost financial power after the war
  • Death toll disproportionate amongst UC & they had to PAY ‘Death Duties’ - some had to tell land/assets to get required money
  • Less significant group in society
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4
Q

1914 - 1930 how did homeownership change (WC)

A

Before 1914 ONLY 10% of WC owned land, by 1930 this has risen to 33%

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5
Q

How did WW1 improve living standards?

A

Experience of war led to a more democratic society:

  • 1918 ROPA widened electorate
  • prices fell faster than wages –> workers could improve their living standards (interwar years)
  • people felt more equal –> surplus income & ppl could aspire to more affluent lifestyles than previous gens
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6
Q

Did WW1 change WC attitudes?

A

No, not really

  • UC/MC (tory gov) feared open revolt - didn’t happen
  • Cases of ‘class conflict’ & strikes declined post-war
  • Widespread WC/MC support for tories in GE’s
  • WC solidarity undermined - union membership declined due to unemployment (Depression)
  • WC affluent Midlands sympathetic but unlikely to strike with poorer North England
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7
Q

How did WW2 affect attitudes?

A
  • Mass Observation found many WC desired equality post-war but were unsure how this would look
  • Class Barries diminished (ish) - post-war hardship caused all classes to cooperate & interact (evacuation. bombing…)
  • some argue experiences of war reinforced class distinctions - many MC/UP blamed WC children’s bedwetting on their upbringing & poor standards (psychologists say it’s a clear sign of distress from evacuation)
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8
Q

What were post-ww2 attitudes?

A
  • attitudes towards the role of gov changed (shown through both parties campaigning on a platform of great gov intervention)
  • The role of the state in lives changed (labour’s commitment to nationalisation)

HOWEVER, attitudes towards class saw no sg change - privilege & deference intact

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9
Q

What was the belief of some labour ministers in Attle’s government?

A

That the:
*House of Lords e
* elite public schools (Eton + Harrow)
should be ABOLISHED –> BUT Attlee’s gov not elected to pursue such radical policies

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10
Q

PERMISSIVE SOCIETY =

A

social norms are freer and more tolerance of difference, tends to be more openness about taboo subjects

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11
Q

What are the main points about the Liberal Society? (1950s - 70s)

A
  • (50s/early 60s) unprecedented increase of affluence, leisure time & consumer choice
  • change in deference & authority
  • Traditional ideas on tabboo subjects challenged
  • lots of unprecedented laws & reforms (liberal)
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12
Q

Why did deference further decline? (the 1950s onwards)

A
  • the new prosperity brought by relaxed consumer credit (affluent society)
  • traditional ideas on class, mobility & community were CHALLENGED (WC tight-knit communities in decline)
    (British new wave)
  • New WC lives led ppl to begin questioning the class system
    (British new wave)
  • Satirical entertainment boomed
    (Satire boom)
  • media exposing scandals involving ruling class
    (Sex scandals)
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13
Q

Outline in main points about the ‘satire boom’

late 50s/ early 60s

A
  • subversive & VERY popular
  • questioned authority & made fun of British establishments (gov, army, UC)
  • Politicians humiliated on national TV
    led to a DECLINE IN DEFERENCE
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14
Q

Name TWO popular satirical programmes & what they were about

A
  1. 1960 ‘Beyond the Fringe’ –> made fun on British establishments
  2. ‘The Aftermyth of the War’ –> made fun on the war effort, so popular the TV show
    * ‘That Was the Week that Was’ –> interviewed leading politicians & made fun of them
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15
Q

Outline the key points about the ‘British New Wave’

A
  • wave of novels about WC men/women coming to terms with a new society –> end of old WC world in pre-war era & birth on new prosperity
  • Writers & Filmmakers
  • indicated that WC ideas about respect for authority & older gen were in decline
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16
Q

Give an example of the ‘British New Wave’

A

Saturday Night Sunday Morning (Alan Sillitoe) 1958

  • novel/film
  • Main character is angry & desperate to escape his background - but enjoys the benefits of consumerism
  • he is a product of the affluent society
  • indicated a DECLINE IN DEFERENCE
17
Q

What was the Profumo affair?

A
  • Featured on the front pages of the Mirror, Daily Mail, Daily Express etc. (1963)
  • Minister of War - John Profumo was sharing a 19 yr old sexual partner with a Soviet attache
  • no evidence Profumo had revealed any state secrets
  • the potential for blackmail was evident
18
Q

What were the consequences of the Profumo Scandal?

A
  • Decline in deference - people shocked he denied such behaviour then later admitted to it
  • Profumo resigned
  • some say it led to the defeat of the Conservative Gov in 1964 GE
19
Q

What did journalism claimed to have happened mid-60s?

A

That a Sexual Revolution had taken place

  • legislation - decriminalising homosexuality & abortion
  • However, little change in public attitudes
20
Q

How did attitudes towards sex differ in the 50s compared to the 60s?

A
  • Not much had actually changed - Gorer’s survey showed that attitudes towards premarital sex were very similar to those in the 50s.
  • However, in 50s it was widely accepted that the state had a role in regulating private sexual behaviour (homosexuality) whereas, in the 60s homosexuality was decriminalised
  • In the 50s & 60s people were still having the same amount of sex
21
Q

How did the media affect attitudes towards sex? (1960s)

A
  • The increased openness in talking about sex meant it became less of a taboo subject
  • Ads in tabloids used sexual allural as a sale technique - people wanted to have that sex appeal
  • Sex became associated with celebrities & consumerism as sex scandals circulated
  • Reportage on sex scandals polarised public opinion on sex - shocked & alarmed Vs those who embraced new openness

British History (4 decks)

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