The Political Changes of Britain Throughout the Twentieth Century

Danny DeGrie        

Matthew Walker

An Economic History of the West

 DATE \@ "MMMM d, y" June 19, 2015

The Political Changes of Britain Throughout the Twentieth Century

When looking at the different events that happened to Britain throughout the Twentieth Century, it is easy to see that the country went through extreme changes.  The most impactful events of the Century, at least for Britain, was the involvement in World War I and World War II.  These two events not only dislodged Britain from their seat as the “world’s leading super power”, but it also changed the political and economic course of the country.  “The months of 1940-1941, when Britain stood alone, are a marvelous moment in the history of the British people, or at any rate those who were lucky enough to live through it, but the country’s chances were slim.” (Hobsbawm 39)  “Britain wages both world wars far beyond its means”” and governments realized that they needed to take control of the economies in order direct resources towards the ongoing wars.  (Hobsbawm 46-47)  Through trial and error, what emerged was a complete shift in economic powers and political organization throughout Britain.  The purpose of this paper is to look further into some of the changes that occurred; and the significant change in economic conditions of Britain during and post the two World Wars.

It is hard to narrow down one specific event that changed Britain in the 20th century.  They were in the middle of three major events that shifted the direction of the country.  The first, World War I was chiefly held and financed by Britain.  During their early conflicts with the “Axis of Evils,” Britain gave up a majority of it’s specie to America, in exchange for more developed weapons, by increasing their money supply and coming off of their relative gold standards.  And so the interwar period was full of inflation.(Rothbard 351)  Essentially dislodging from the Gold Standard, helped Britain finance the war, but it didn’t help them over the long term.  The economic damage had been done.  What they did is return to their gold standard post World War I at a “pseudo-gold standard,” with which “British pounds and other currencies were not payable in gold coins, but only in large-sized bars, suitable only for international transactions.” (Rothbard 95)  This alteration in economic currency was the beginning of the economic unraveling for Britain.