The Second World War and British Society - Coursework Example

Assess what difference the Second World War made to British society with regard to housing and Health Chapter One Introduction The impact of the Second World War in all aspects of life in Britain cannot be doubted. In the literature the effects of this War on the life of Britons has been extensively examined and many interest findings were revealed. Regarding this issue it is noticed by Hayes et al. (1999, 261) that ‘the impact of the Second World War on social change has long been a subject of much controversy; the centre of debate has, however, recently moved from perennial favourites, such as the role of women or the nations health, to the Peoples Culture: the effect of the war on popular leisure, recreation, the arts and lifestyles generally’. It should be noticed that other factors of Briton’s life, like the work conditions, were also affected by the Second World War. The specific issue was examined by Mackay (2002, 120) who refers to a survey conducted among 160 factories in UK in 1941. This survey revealed that: ‘in 1944 women were typically still working fifty or fifty-five hours a week’. In the same study it is highlighted that ‘many of these workers have been subjected to unaccustomed strains both at home and at their work; the normal holiday and weekend arrangements have of necessity been interrupted and as a result there is a danger of a reduction in productive capacity due to persistent fatigue, in some cases leading to breakdown in health’ (report of the Council of Social Services in Liverpool, 1941, in Mackay, 2002, 120). In other words, the Second World War has created severe turbulences to the particular aspects of daily life in Britain; however these turbulences have not been similar across all social and economic sectors of the country. On the other hand, it seems that there were sectors that were influenced more severely from the particular War. In this context, it has been proved in the literature and the empirical research that housing and health in Britain were particularly affected by the specific War. From another point of view, it is suggested by Tatsuya (1994, 33) that ‘the creation of the welfare state in Britain, of which popular housing provision forms an essential part, has been seen as the working out of a wartime consensus on social policy; the Labour Partys pragmatic approach to solving the housing shortage contrasted sharply with the more limited plan put forward by the Conservatives and was a major contributory factor in the Labour victory at the 1945 General Election’. In other words, the Second World War created a series of problems regarding the realization of the plans of the British governments (in many sectors, including housing and health). The specific issue is the main subject of current paper which focuses especially on the long term effects of the Second World War in housing and health of Britain. It should be noticed here that most of the data referring to the Second World War and the various aspects of British life during this War (and the years that followed) have been gathered by the members (volunteers) of the private institute Mass-Observation which employed approximately 1,500 volunteers around the country. 2. Second World War and British Society The Second World War has resulted to significant changes in all aspects of British life. Hayes et al. (1999) examined the effects of the war on sports and found that ‘from the second half of the nineteenth century to the eve of the Second World War, the dominating principle of sports organization in England had been voluntarism’. Just temporarily a thought that politics and sports are irrelevant and are depended on one another was believed to be expanded; however, under the severe financial and social turbulences that the second world war caused, the administration of all sports initiatives in the country had to be adapted to the political decisions made during the specific period; these decisions were characterized by the enforcement of the state’s provision for specific sectors like health and housing. It should be noticed that because of the war, the health of the majority of British population was affected. In fact, apart from the direct casualties (as a direct result of the war) other problems of health appeared across the population. In this context, mental health problems in the country become a common phenomenon. Moreover in accordance with a report sent by ‘a committee of leading psychiatrists in the London teaching hospitals to the Ministry of Health in October 1938 there would be three times as many mental casualties as physical casualties; this implied the swamping of the mental health services by between three and four million psychiatric cases’ (Mackay, 2002, 22). On the other hand, Jones et al. (2004, 463) supported that ‘the impact of air raids on civilian morale during the Second World War has been the subject of much dispute; official histories concluded that the mental health of the nation may have improved, while panic was a rare phenomenon but revisionist historians argued that psychiatric casualties were significantly higher than these accounts suggested because cases went unreported, while others were treated as organic disorders’. Towards this direction, it is also supported by Bennett (1973, 1065) that ‘the major postwar development in Britain has been in social psychiatry, with particular reference to hospitalized psychotic patients; since then projections have been made to provide services on a sector basis, in which teams of psychiatrists, nurses, and social workers serve population groups of 60,000 each and provide outpatient and transitional facilities as well as inpatient care’. The increased number of people that developed a mental health problem is expected to be related with the radical changes in the British life during the Second World War. In fact, because the First World War was not related (at least not at this level) with mental health problems across the population, the appearance of this phenomenon found psychiatrists in Britain rather unready to face the problem effectively. 3. Housing and Health in Britain under the influence of the Second World War As explained above, the social and political conditions of Britain during the Second World War were characterized by instability in all their aspects. In accordance with the study of Mackay (2002, 30) ‘Britain in the 1930s was a divided society; the faultline lay between those who were victims of the Depression and those who were spared its ravages; those whose living standards fell and those who came out relatively better off; the partial economic recovery and the rearmament programme still left one and a third million people registered as unemployed in 1939; mass unemployment meant that millions suffered from poverty, bad housing, ill health and poor nutrition’. Under these terms, it could be expected that the political decisions of the government in the specific period should focus on the needs of people in their daily life and not to refer exclusively to the design and execution of various military plans. Of course, all military initiatives should be appropriately planned and developed but not against the interests of the population; for this reason the funds invested on the public sector (including housing, health, nutrition) should be increased. It should be noticed that the above issues were also reviewed by the British government of the specific period. Towards this direction, the study of Hayes et al. (1999) that refers to the various aspects of British life in the particular period reveals that ‘the main issues in 1945 were seen by the local Labour press as being social security, education, housing, employment, health and a lasting peace; nor was there very much discussion nationally in the Labour-inclined press’ (Hayes et al., 1999, 252). It seems that the British government has realized the need for increased funding on all aspects of public sector; however because of the bad condition of the British economy (as a result of the wars, the First World War and the Second that followed) such initiatives were not too easy to be appropriately completed. Despite the lack of sufficient funds for the realization of the relevant projects (related with the public sector as described above) the British government continued to promote the development of plans that could improve the living conditions of people in Britain during (and after) the War. In accordance with Mackay (2002, 222) ‘by 1943 there were more than one hundred unofficial organizations studying and putting out ideas and proposals on different aspects of post-war reconstruction: land and town planning, industry and economics, agriculture, housing and public amenities, education, medicine and health’. It seems that the development of the Second World War did not prohibit the British government to proceed a series of plans referring to all aspects of the public sector; but a severe delay in the realization of these plans was finally caused. The health of people in Britain during the War was worsened (in average). Apart from the mental health problems that were extensively reported and treated across the country during the specific period, other issues, like the poising of food appeared. In accordance with the study of Hardy (1999, 293) ‘as deadlier infections retreated, food poisoning became an increasing concern of local and national health authorities, who sought both to raise public awareness of the condition as illness, and to regulate and improve food handling practices; notification of cases was begun in 1939, and this, together with social changes during and after the Second World War, produced an escalating spiral of reported incidents which still continues’. Under these terms the provision of specific health services to people across the country during the war became an emergent issue. British government had to identify and apply the policies that could help people in Britain to face effectively all the above described health problems; appropriate provision should be also made in order for the health of the people across the country to be improved. The establishment of the (official) National Health Service in 1946 (as described analytically in the study that is evaluated in the next chapter) has been an indicative effort of the British government to achieve such a target. Chapter Two Analysis of the study: ‘Living Standards in Britain 1900-2000: Womens Century’ by Sara Horrell [National Institute Economic Review, 2000, 62-76] The consequences of the Second World War (as also of the First One) had been extensively examined in the literature and the empirical research by theorists and researchers around the world. Britain has been a country that was involved at an extremely high level in this war (being one of the major parties during the development of the war around the world). One of the studies that can be considered of significant importance regarding the effects of the Second World War on all aspects of British life (including health and housing) is the one of Sara Horrell under the title ‘Living Standards in Britain: 1900-2000: Women’s Century’. The specific study was published by the National Institute Economic Review and despite the fact that it focuses on the role of women in British Society during the last century (covering in practice both the World Wars) it also contains important information for the various aspects of the daily life of people in Britain for the specific period (1900-2000). In this study it is noticed that ‘few people would dispute that the standard of living of the average Briton has improved over the past hundred years; national income per capita has grown from [pounds] 44.65 in 1900 to [pounds]252.58 by 1998, in constant prices; boys born today can expect to reach the age of 75, compared with a life expectancy of only 46 for their predecessors in 1900 and a university education is no longer the privilege of a small minority’ (Horrell, 2000, 62). The above issues are mentioned as characteristic examples of the fact that in average the quality of life of people in Britain has been improved during the last century; it would be argued though that in the past human relationships in the country (as in all countries internationally) were highly developed while today the anxiety for survival has led people in isolation (a phenomenon of modern life). Before the beginning of the Second World War the country had to recover from another catastrophic war; the First World War; in this context, the British government had to focus on the development of plans that would be of low cost (as possible) in order to ensure the saving of funds for the gradual restructuring of the country. The establishment of the National Health Service in 1913 (at a primary form) should be characterized as one of the most important governmental plans in Britain during the last century. The development of the above public service was closely monitored by the government in order to ensure the achievement of the targets set especially in the long term. The success of this project was considered to be of significant importance (actually it helped the country to face the health issues resulted from both the Wars that followed (the First and the Second World War). It is because of the importance of this project that the specific issue has been extensively examined by Horrell in her study (under examination). More specifically, it is mentioned by the above researcher that ‘the Beveridge Report, Social Insurance and Allied Services (UK 1942) identified five evils - want, disease, ignorance, squalor and idleness - that comprehensive insurance and provision of services were designed to eliminate’ (Horrell, 2000, 64). In order to face the above issues, especially the health problems of the people across the country, the British government proceeded to the establishment of a completed (in terms of the network of the clinical centres developed across the country, the quality of the services provided and the funding of these services by the government) National Health System through the National Health Service Act of 1946). Regarding the particular project it is noticed by Horrell (2000, 64) that ‘these developments, along with improved public health, nutrition and accommodation, have led to an unambiguous improvement in the health environment over the century’. The above initiatives are just indicative regarding the efforts made by the British government in order to support the improvement of the living conditions and the health of people across the country. The lack of funds for the realization of the relevant projects (as already explained above) is an issue that has been taken into significant consideration by the British government in that period. However, because of the Second World War (and the First World War) there were no many choices available to the British government the specific period. For this reason, the measures taken and the plans applied at that specific period of time can be characterized as quite effective based on the conditions of life during the War (also in the period that followed the Second World War). In accordance with the study of Horrell, the British government has proceeded to all appropriate measures for the improvement of housing and health in the country since the end of the Second World War. In fact, it is clear from the study of the above researcher that the efforts of the British government during all the last century can be considered as appropriate and effective especially if taken into consideration the funds available and the political and social conditions throughout the century (two World Wars). The specific issue is also highlighted by Ackroyd (1995, 19) who noticed that in Britain ‘there are three significant stages in development: local public administration, 1870-1950; central Welfare State, 1950-1980; and decentralized provision, 1980-1995; in order to understand this sequence, and especially the emergence of centralized public provision, it is necessary to discuss modes of delivery of services within these institutional frameworks of provision; the recent re-emergence of decentralized provision has a certain inevitability, but that it is important that this takes an appropriate form’. In accordance with the above, through the years British governments had to face significant challenges regarding the resolution of problems of high importance like health and housing of the population. The measures taken by the British politicians in any relevant period (always referring to last century) should be evaluated using as a criterion their effectiveness in the long term. Using the specific criterion, this task leads to the assumption that the plans applied by the British governments during the last century (the period of the Second World War is included in any case) should be characterized as quite effective; the current development of the country is the most characteristic indicator of this effectiveness. Towards the above direction, Horrell (2000, 65) notices that ‘dramatic improvements in life expectancy, infant mortality rates, the incidence of diseases such as tuberculosis and smallpox as well as the proportion of deaths occurring through these diseases, and from maternal mortality and childhood diseases have been achieved in Britain over the 20th century; these variables are incorporated into an indicator of health’. The assumptions related with the housing sector could be expected to be similar. In any case the specific sector (housing) is considered to be among the most developed sectors in the country supporting the national economy. References Ackroyd, S. (1995) From public administration to public sector management: understanding contemporary change in British public services. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 8(2): 19-32 Bennett, D. (1973) Community Mental Health Services in Britain. American Journal of Psychiatry, 130: 1065-1070 Hardy, A. (1999) Food, Hygiene and the Laboratory: A Short History of Food Poisoning in Britain circa 1850-1950. Social History of Medicine, 12(2): 293-311 Hayes, N., Hill, J. (1999) Millions like us? : British culture in the Second World War Liverpool, England: Liverpool University Press Horrell, S. (2000) Living Standards in Britain 1900-2000: Womens Century. National Institute Economic Review, 62-76 Jones, E., Woolven, R., Durobie, B., Wessely, S. (2004) Civilian Morale During the Second World War. Social History of Medicine, 17(3): 463-479 Mackay, R. (2002) Half the Battle: Civilian Morale in Britain during the Second World War. Manchester, England: Manchester University Press Tatsuya, T. (1994) Preparing for peace: the housing programmes of political parties and the 1945 general election in Britain. Keio Economic Studies, 31(2): 33-55 Read More