I saw an interesting documentary last week, The Spirit of 45. It’s from director Ken Loach, and it uses archive footage and interviews to explore the unique post-war circumstances that led to the creation of the welfare state. The film is working a certain angle, but it’s a remarkable time in Britain’s history and its full of great personal stories. It’s one of those films that provokes real debate, and it’s well worth catching if it’s on near you.
I’ve written a longer piece about the film which will be online at some point. For now, check out the trailer, and visit the film website to try their little interactive widget where you see what your life would have been like if you were living in 1945.
The Earthbound Report 
The vision of 1945 was the product of Beveridge, who never addressed underlying issues like rent, and admitted as much. Consequently, it was never more than compulsory state charity and failed to deal with the circumstances that gave rise to the problems that socialism attempted to resolve.
As a result it was never sustainable. A financial crisis in 1964, the late 1960s boom and a dash-for-growth in the early 1970s led to a collapse in 1974, 25% annual rates of inflation for a decade, monetarism and Thatcherism, and have brought the UK to its present pass.
So it has to be back to square one and a willingness to discard past, failed “solutions”.
I agree. There are a couple of gaping holes in the project that could have made it more sustainable. One was land reform – it was a perfect opportunity to redress centuries old injustices in land access, and it was missed.
The second was a change to the political system. That sense of togetherness and a shared vision should have been pushed through into a written constitution and political reform. Plenty of other social democracies did it, but we didn’t. Instead, all the old power structures were left in place to tear everything down again when it inevitably failed.
I like “gaping hole”. A bucket without a bottom comes to mind. But a structure built in quicksands is probably a better analogy. Then again a sand castle comes to mind.
land provides a revenue stream, rent, from which tax can be paid.