1. Socialism vs. Capitalism
1.1. Socialism
1.1.1. A social and economic structure that centres around the use of public ownership rather than private ownership so heavily relied upon in Capitalism.
1.1.1.1. It calls upon the philosophy that you, as an individual, do not work and live in isolation but rather in cooperation.
1.1.1.2. Key ideas
1.1.1.2.1. Critique private ownership and control of capital being the cause of poverty, low wages, unemployment, economic and social inequality, and a lack of economic security.
1.1.1.2.2. Believe that a structure that shares the collective control over a product and the manufacturing and distribution of said product.
1.1.1.2.3. Believe that society should be run with social and economic equality, and that the lives within the society should be satisfying.
1.1.2. Communism
1.1.2.1. This is an extreme of Socialism.
1.1.2.2. Difference between Socialism and Communism.
1.1.2.2.1. Socialism believes that everyone in society shares a collective control and therefore profit over a product, most forms also maintain that the magnitude of work put in is a factor in the percentage of profit gained by the individual.
1.1.2.2.2. Communism holds the idea that each member of society should retain the same profit no matter the magnitude of work put in.
1.2. Capitalism
1.2.1. 1st Definition: This is a social system based upon individual rights.
1.2.1.1. Politically: Rather than a system that provides directed support, a capitalist system is based upon the idea that the market's self-interest will take care of the problems affecting it and thus the society it supports.
1.2.1.1.1. This becomes an issue when the markets self-interest (making money) does not take care of other issues that affect society as a whole.
1.2.1.2. Economically: This political freedom results in a free market - being able to have unregulated buying of goods.
1.2.1.2.1. This can lead to overproduction in areas that are unneeded by the larger society and underproduction in areas that are; then a manipulation of that to collect a better profit.
1.2.1.3. Legally: A system of objective laws that cannot be affected by moral laws.
1.2.1.3.1. This can lead to a society run by laws that are not held accountable on a moral scale.
1.2.2. 2nd Definition: This is an economic model that centres around the privatisation of goods, land and services between one or more owners, allowing for a free competitive market.
1.2.2.1. This can lead to to a Class system.
1.2.3. Class Structure and Wage Labour
1.2.3.1. Wage labour is the relationship between a worker and their employer. The worker gets a salary/wage while the employer makes money off of the goods produced by the worker.
1.2.3.2. Because of the freedom that Capitalism allows, employers or 'Capitalists' can abuse the Wage Labour structure by underpaying their worker and collecting a bigger economic margin.
1.2.3.2.1. The freedom given also promotes cutting costs on the production end; bad working conditions, poor quality products, cheaper and usually more dangerous machines prevail.
1.3. J.B. Priestley's views
1.3.1. Socialist
1.3.1.1. The Inspector.
1.3.1.1.1. The Inspector constantly seems more intelligent and constantly makes the Birlings seem immoral, childish, ignorant and completely lacking in empathy - which promotes J.B's opinions.
1.3.1.1.2. Arguably an alter-ego for Priestley to express his views.
1.3.1.2. 1941 - Chaired the 1941 Commitee
1.3.1.2.1. This was a group of British politicians, writers and other people of influence who got together in 1940 to press for more efficient production to enhance the war effort.
1.3.1.3. 1942 - Was a co-founder of the socialist Common Wealth Party.
1.3.1.4. March 1949 - Went on Orwell's list.
1.3.1.4.1. This was a list of people created by George Orwell for the Information Research Department (IRD). The people on it were suspected of being Pro-communist and therefore to be inappropriate to write for the IRD.
1.3.1.5. 1958 - Was a founding member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.
1.3.2. World War II - The Postscript.
1.3.2.1. This was a radio show that broadcasted on Sunday nights through 1940 and again in 1941. Drew peak audiences of 16 million; only Churchill was more popular with listeners.
1.3.2.2. He was a regular broadcaster.
1.3.2.2.1. His talks regularly contained political content and his hopes of a new and different England after the war. This influenced the politics of the period and helped the Labour Party gain its landslide victory in the 1945 general election.
1.3.2.3. His talks were cancelled.
1.3.2.3.1. First thought that this as because of complaints from Churchill that his views were too left-wing.
1.3.2.3.2. But it was Churchill's Cabinet at fault by supplying negative reports on the broadcasts to Churchill, as explained by Priestley's son in a talk on the latest book being published about his father's life.
1.3.3. Was distrustful of the state and dogma.
2. Life in 1945
2.1. The 1945 election
2.1.1. Labor Party won
2.1.1.1. Threw Winston Churchill out of Parliament.
2.1.1.1.1. Churchill leading Britain through the war meant that people saw him fit to lead through conflict but not into peace
2.1.1.1.2. May 1945 - the month the war in Europe was ended, Churchill's approval ratings were 83%. But, Labour Party held an 18% lead as of February 1945.
2.1.1.1.3. May 1945 - Labour pulled out of the coalition between them and the Tories causing an election to take place - that Labour then won with overwhelming support.
2.1.1.1.4. When his party lost Churchill was 'both surprised and stunned.'
2.1.1.2. Led by Clement Attlee
2.1.1.3. Why?
2.1.1.3.1. Labour's social reform
2.2. The Welfare state.
2.2.1. 1906-1914 - The Liberal Welfare Reforms
2.2.1.1. The modern Welfare state started to emerge from 1906 to 1914 with the liberal welfare reforms under the Liberal Prime Minister Herbert Asquith.
2.2.1.2. 1906 - Education (Provision of Meals) Act
2.2.1.3. 1908 - the Old-Age Pensions Act
2.2.1.4. 1909 - Labour Exchanges Act
2.2.1.4.1. This helped the unemployed get employment
2.2.1.5. 1909 - the Development Act
2.2.1.5.1. Allowed government intervention in economic growth.
2.2.1.6. 1911 - the National Insurance Act
2.2.1.6.1. Set up national insurance for the unemployed
2.2.1.6.2. Health benefits from work for workers
2.2.2. 1942 - The Beveridge Report
2.2.2.1. December of 1942. Published as: 'Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee on Social Insurance and Allied Services'.
2.2.2.2. Became commonly known as the 'Beveridge report' after its chairman, Sir William Beveridge.
2.2.2.3. What it proposed.
2.2.2.3.1. A series of measures to aid those who were in need of help, or in poverty.
2.2.2.3.2. State scheme would be cheaper to run than individual private or society run schemes.
2.2.2.3.3. The Universal Child Benefit
2.2.2.3.4. National Health Service
2.2.2.4. Impacts.
2.2.2.4.1. Proposals were adopted by Conservative, Liberal and then Labour parties.
2.2.2.4.2. 5th July 1948 - Acts of Parliament, under Labour Government.
2.2.2.4.3. These formed the basis of The Modern UK Welfare State.
3. Poverty and the Great Depression
3.1. Poverty
3.1.1. British Poor Law system in England and Wales, Scotland, and Ireland changed dramatically.
3.1.1.1. Significant expansions in workhouses/poorhouses.
3.1.1.2. The Poor Law System got changed out for the more humanitarian 'Social Legislation'
3.1.1.3. Government became much more paternal.
3.1.2. 1800s - huge population increase, rapid urbanisation (Industrial revolution).
3.1.2.1. The large numbers of workers (both skilled and not) meant wages were barely liveable.
3.1.2.2. Mixture of both factors meant housing was scarce, especially in the industrial centre of London.
3.1.2.2.1. Large houses got turned into flats and tenements which were not maintained by landlords, making the houses become slums.
3.2. The Great Depression/Great Slump
3.2.1. 1930s - period of economic downturn.
3.2.1.1. 1929-33 - UK's world trade halved.
3.2.1.2. Output of heavy industry decreased by a third.
3.2.1.3. Employment profits plunged in almost all sections, and unemployment reached 70% in some areas in early 1930s.
3.2.1.4. Summer 1932 - Worst period, registered unemployed was 3.5 million in UK, many of the employed were only working part-time.
3.2.1.5. Hardest hit were industrial and mining in north of England, Scotland, N. Ireland, and Wales.
3.2.1.6. Many families were dependent of 'doles', local government funded payments.
3.2.1.7. Hardest hit were industrial and mining in north of England, Scotland, N. Ireland, and Wales.
3.2.2. Originated from the global great depression.
3.2.2.1. Started in the U.S in late 1929 and spread to the world.
3.2.3. Unlike U.S.A., Germany, Canada, and Australia, UK didn't have the 1920s economic boom so the slump appeared less severe.
3.3. Consequences of the Great Depression
3.3.1. The foundations of a UK which cared about the welfare of its people had been put down.
3.3.2. The tax-funded National Health Service
3.3.2.1. This treatment according to need rather than ability to pay as previous tax-funded schemes had been.
3.3.3. 1945 - Winston lost to the Labour led by Clement Attlee (See 1945 -> 1945 election)
3.3.3.1. No-one wanted a return to pre-war Conservative economic policies, which they blamed for the hardship of the 1930s.
4. Women's Rights
4.1. Early 20th century Women's rights
4.1.1. 1891 - a law passed that women could not be forced to live with a man if they did not want to.
4.1.1.1. Women were still heavily reliant on their husbands so this was somewhat redundant.
4.1.2. 1900 - despite having more rights that the previous century, women still expected to be mothers and wives.
4.1.2.1. If they worked, most women worked as servants in large households. Some worked as teachers but only in nurseries and primary schools, even less worked as nurses.
4.1.3. 1918 - The representation of the people act
4.1.3.1. Women over thirty were given the right to vote.
4.1.3.2. Factors - During WW1 women took over men's jobs, giving them a new freedom and proving that women were capable of the same things as men. Governments were unable to deny women the right to vote.
4.1.3.3. 1928 - age boundary was lowered to 21, putting women on equal footing with men.
4.2. Women's Social and Political Union - WSPU
4.2.1. 1903 - Formed by a small group of women led by Emmeline Pankhurst.
4.2.1.1. The WSPU led the movement that was set on getting women the right to vote.
4.2.1.2. They achieved this by any militant means - short of human lives.
4.2.2. 1906 - the London office was opened and Pankhursts daughters - Sylvia and Christabel - joined her as leaders of the movement
4.2.3. The Suffragettes
4.2.3.1. A term used first in the Daily mail on the 10th January 1906 to differentiate the millitant WSPU from the Suffragists.
4.2.4. Emily Wilding Davidson
4.2.4.1. Like many other suffragists, went on hunger strike in Holloway Prison.
4.2.4.2. 1912 - Tried to kill herself by throwing herself off the railings of Holloway Prison.
4.2.4.3. 1913 - Threw herself in front of the King's Horse at Epsom with the suffragette flag sewn into her coat. Later, she died from the injuries she sustained.
4.2.4.3.1. She became a martyr, and was buried with her coffin draped in Suffragette colours (Purple, Green, and White) while a procession of 2,000 suffragettes followed her.
4.2.4.3.2. On her gravestone, it is inscribed 'Deeds not Words.'
4.2.4.3.3. She was buried near her home Morpeth in Northumberland
5. Life in 1912
5.1. 1912 strikes
5.1.1. Early 20th century saw society move away from the power being in the hands of a select few and instead spread (more) fairly
5.1.2. Second Industrial Revolution
5.1.2.1. This meant worse working conditions and more boring, repetitive work for the workers.
5.1.2.1.1. This lead to discontent among workers in industrialised cities, and then strikes.
5.1.2.2. New Science-based industries destroyed older businesses around the world.
5.2. Technological advancements.
5.2.1. The Second Industrial Revolution
5.2.1.1. This improved meant that relatively high quality pieces could be made and then sold for a high profit - making the capitalist structure even more prevalent.
5.2.2. The Titanic
5.2.2.1. 14 April 1912 - the titanic hit an iceberg at 11:40 pm ship's time.
5.2.2.1.1. The collision made the Titanic's hull plates to buckle inwards along the starboard side and filled five of the sixteen watertight compartments with sea water, making the ship gradually filled with water.
5.2.2.1.2. The passengers and some crew members were evacuated in lifeboats.
5.2.2.1.3. 2:20 AM - fully broke apart and sunk with well over one thousand people still aboard.
5.2.2.1.4. Under two hours after the Titanic sunk, the Cunard liner RMS Carpathia arrived on the scene of the sinking, where it brought aboard an estimated 705 survivors.
5.2.2.2. The ship had everything in the name of comfort and luxury, with an on-board gymnasium, swimming pool, libraries, high-class restaurants and opulent cabins.
5.2.2.3. On the maiden voyage, there were 2,224 passengers and crew.
5.2.2.4. Some of the wealthiest people in the world, and hundreds of emigrants from throughout Europe were on the boat.
5.2.2.5. Edward Smith was the captain.
5.2.2.6. 15 April 1912 - myths began about the design, construction and transatlantic voyage.
5.2.2.6.1. Though Titanic had advanced safety features such as watertight compartments and remotely activated watertight doors, there were not enough lifeboats to accommodate all of those aboard due to outdated maritime safety regulations.
5.2.2.6.2. The joins between the side plates of the ship were outdated because it was cheaper., still strong but nowhere near strong enough to withstand an iceberg.
5.2.2.6.3. The watchmen were not allowed to wear glasses as it made the passengers uncomfortable that watchmen needed glasses.
5.3. WW1
5.3.1. Causes
5.3.1.1. Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
5.3.1.1.1. The heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the time.
5.3.1.1.2. 28 June 1914 - Archduke Franz Ferdinand was shot and killed by a Serbian man who thought Serbia should control Bosnia instead of Austria.
5.3.1.2. Power balance
5.3.1.2.1. Between Democracy and and dictatorship
5.3.1.2.2. The Triple Entrente had control over a majority of countries, however the Alliance was becoming more and more powerful and taking over more countries, the Entrente didn't like this.
5.3.2. Effects
5.3.2.1. Sent Germany and allies into a economic depression.
5.3.2.1.1. This then led to WW2
5.3.2.2. Treaty of Versace
5.3.2.2.1. This also led to WW2.
5.3.2.2.2. Signed in 1918 in the shadow of the Russian Revolution.
5.3.2.3. Lots of people died.
5.3.2.4. Meant that people became open to different economic structures.
5.3.2.4.1. i.e.: Fascism in Italy
5.3.2.5. Russian Revolution
5.3.2.5.1. Between the provisional government (from when the monarchy ended in 1905) and the soviets. Then later the Bolsheviks, Left Socialist Revolutionaries, Socialist Revolutionaries and Mensheviks.
5.3.2.5.2. The actual revolution was almost completely bloodless.
5.3.3. Known as the 'Great War' at the time. Was fought between:
5.3.3.1. The Triple Entente: Great Britain, France and Russia.
5.3.3.1.1. Great Britain and France both were capitalist societies but with relatively democratic processes in parliament.
5.3.3.1.2. Russia was capitalist but steadily becoming more and more socialist until it became fully communist under the rule of Stalin.
5.3.3.1.3. 1917 - the defeat of Russia and adherence of the USA to the alliance narrowed the conflict to one between a group of states committed to liberal and democratic values, and a militarist autocracy. The alliance was imperfectly democratic.
5.3.3.2. The Triple Alliance: Germany, Austria-Hungary and their allies.
5.3.3.2.1. Germany had a monarchy system with the Kaiser at the top and a military dictatorship model in parallel. Very Capitalist.
5.3.3.2.2. Austria-Hungary was a constitutional dual monarchy, very similar to Germany.