Anthony Sutcliffe - An Economic and Social History of Western Europe since 1945

ANTHONY SUTCLIFFE

First published 1996 by Pearson Education Limited

Published 2014 by Routledge
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Copyright 1996, Taylor & Francis.

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ISBN 13: 978-0-582-23645-5 (pbk)

British Libary Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Sutcliffe, Anthony, 1942-

An economic and social history of Western Europe since 1945 Anthony Sutcliffe.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0582236460. ISBN 0582236452 (pbk.)

1. Europe, WesternEconomic conditions1945- 2. Europe.

WesternSocial conditions. I. Title.

HC240.S8241996

Set by in 10/12p Baskerville

An Economic and Social History of Western Europe Since 1945

In memory of Roger Smith

The publishers would like to thank the following for granting permission to use copyright material: Editons la Dcouverte, Paris for

As the end of the second millennium of our era approaches, interest in the recent history of western Europe is growing. With European integration proceeding apace, more of us need to know how it has come about, and what its implications are. More students find themselves taking survey courses which deal exclusively or in part with western Europe. Many of us now feel the need to set the history of our own time in a European as well as a national perspective.

To write a history of the economy and society of western Europe since the war for such a varied readership is a tall order. Fortunately, this series already includes a political history of post-war Europe by Neil Urwin. Western Europe Since 1945: A Short Political History has run to four editions since it was first published in 1968. Urwins historical frame is similar to ours and the two books are complementary. Indeed, those accustomed to economic history surveys may be surprised by the presence of political history in what follows. There are two main reasons for this. First, the association of economic and social history in one account creates a very broad historical arena within which political changes cannot be ignored. Second, so great has been the role of government in economic and social affairs since 1945 that political factors have to be made explicit.

The structure of this book is an attempt to reconcile the presentation of national and continental experiences. Western Europe is understood as a large, sub-continental region, the birthplace of industrialisation in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but with broad areas still almost unaffected by it in 1945. The main industrialised area, centred on Britain, Belgium, France and Germany, is designated here as the core. The non-industrialised or industrialising areas form two fringe zones to the north, in Scandinavia, and in the Mediterranean south. There is a tiny western fringe, composed of Ireland. Not all the national economies are treated in detail Switzerland, Ireland and Austria are the main exclusions but the remainder are grouped within the two fringe zones and the core.

Within this framework it has been possible to discuss the economic fortunes of fourteen western European countries in some detail. However, no attempt has been made to adopt the same agenda for each. The national accounts emphasise features or episodes that are significant for those countries, or for western Europe in general. For instance, the comprehensive reconstruction of western Germany under Allied direction secures extensive treatment because of its importance not only for the economic revival of Germany but for that of western Europe as a whole. In France, the modernising role of Charles De Gaulle from the 1940s to the 1960s secures repeated attention. In Britain, the theme is one of relative economic decline until the 1980s. In this way, the fortunes of each country contribute to the economic and social history of western Europe which is the central concern of the book.

Social history, which is dealt with on a continental scale in two long chapters, is not given distinct national treatments. Important developments, such as the rise of a youth culture, are discussed in relation to countries and periods of time where they were most visible, or from where they exercised continental influence. The emphasis is on change and human experience, not on structures and continuity.

This book is based on part of Towards a New Europe, a First Year course taught by the Department of Economic and Social History at the University of Leicester. The course is followed by students from several departments in the Faculty of the Social Sciences and the Faculty of Arts, most of whom have not previously encountered the discipline of Economic and Social History. Several of my Leicester colleagues have taken a very helpful and generous interest. Derek Aldcroft, now of Manchester Metropolitan University, whose work on European economic history has been the touchstone for this book, has been a constant source of ideas and reactions. He has read the book in several drafts, and pointed out numerous errors and weaknesses. I have tried to deal with all of these, but he is not, of course, responsible for the faults that remain. Francesco Galassi is a true world historian who has helped me greatly with novel perspectives and striking examples. Philip Cottrells grasp of the international economy has also been of great value. His comments on part of the draft have led to a large number of detailed and even structural improvements, but he is not responsible for any surviving errors, repetitions, and lack of precision. Sally Horrocks and David Williams have lent me books from their collections. David Nunn, a Leicester undergraduate with the unusual distinction of having met Albert Speer, volunteered to make a special trip into town to buy me a rare copy of Mandy Rice-Davies novel,