This article deals with certain aspects of British economic decline. After a short historical review of British economic performance, the phenomenon of deindustrialization is examined. Two major economic theories of deindustrialization are discussed alongside empirical evidence of the recent, rapid decline in Britain's manufacturing base and its worsening trade performance in goods and services. The effects of multinational corporations are also briefly examined. In the final section of the article, attention is given to some of the social and political aspects of deindustrialization. In particular, evidence on poverty, unemployment, and living standards in contemporary Britain is discussed in relation to a sociological model that attempts to explain certain apparent paradoxes of British society. This model is an extension of T. H. Marshall's pioneering work on citizenship and social class and serves to highlight both the continuing stabilizing effects of the modern status order and the possibility of further clashes between the competing claims of citizenship and social class.
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References
1.
1. The best-known sociological work in this genre is that of Daniel Bell; see, for example, The Coming of Post-Industrial Society (London: Heinemann, 1974).
2.
2. See, for example, Andrew Gamble, Britain in Decline (London: Macmillan, 1981).
3.
and Fred L. Block, The Origins of International Economic Disorder (London: University of California Press, 1977).
4.
and Karel Williamset al., Why Are the British Bad at Manufacturing (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1983).
5.
5. Scammell, International Economy; Williamset al., Why Are the British.
6.
6. Michael Mann, “Nationalism and Internationalism: A Critique of Economic and Defence Policies,” in Socialism in a Cold Climate, ed. J. Griffith (London: Allen and Unwin, 1983), pp. 184-206.
7.
7. Scammell, International Economy; Williamset al., Why Are the British; Mann, “Nationalism and Internationalism.”
8.
8. For more details on this point see Stephen Blank, “Britain: The Politics of Foreign Economic Policy,”International Organisation, 31(4) (1977).
9.
9. Scammell, International Economy provides a useful discussion on the two most recent world recessions.
10.
M. Panic , “Why the UK's Propensity to Import Is So High,”Lloyds Bank Review, 115:1-12 (Jan. 1975).
11.
11. Williamset al., Why Are the British, app. A, tab. 3.
12.
12. Scammell, International Economy, p. 63.
13.
13. Ibid., p. 125.
14.
14. Ibid.
15.
15. A. D. Smithet al., “International Productivity: A Comparison of Britain, America, and Germany,”National Institute Economic Review, 101:13-25 (Aug. 1982).
16.
16. Scammell, International Economy.
17.
17. For a general discussion of government policies from the 1950s to the early 1970s, see Leo Panitch, Social Democracy and Industrial Militancy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976); see also Colin Crouch, Class, Conflict, and the Industrial Relations Crisis (London: Humanities Press, 1977).
18.
18. Frank Longstreth, “Financial Markets and the Political Busines Cycle,” mimeographed (Bath: University of Bath, Department of Sociology, 1983).
19.
19. John Eatwell, Whatever Happened to Britain? (London: BBC Publications, 1982), p. 130.
20.
20. For a detailed discussion of the phenomenon of stagflation, see Howard J. Sherman, Stagflation: A Radical Theory of Unemployment and Inflation (New York: Harper & Row, 1976).
21.
21. David Coates, Labour in Power? (London: Longman, 1980).
22.
22. For more detail on economic policies and political problems in Britain in the 1970s, see James Alt, The Politics of Economic Decline (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1978).
23.
23. Bell, Coming of Post-Industrial Society.
24.
24. For a general discussion on the phenomenon, see Frank Blackaby, ed., Deindustrialisation (London: Heinemann, 1979).
25.
25. Robert Bacon and Walter Eltis, Britain's Economic Problems: Too Few Producers (London: Macmillan, 1976).
26.
26. See T. Sherif, A Deindustrialised Britain, Fabian Research Series, no. 341 (London: Fabian Society, 1979), pp. 5-7.
27.
27. Ajit Singh, “UK Industry and the World Economy: A Case of Deindustrialisation?,”Cambridge Journal of Economics, 1(2):113-136 (1977).
28.
28. See Blackaby, ed., Deindustrialisation.
29.
29. A. P. Thirlwall, “Deindustrialisation in the United Kingdom,”Lloyds Bank Review, Apr. 1982, pp. 22-37.
30.
30. Nigel Harris, Of Blood and Guns (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1983), p. 83, tab. 13.
31.
31. See H. Morrison, “Employment in the Public and Private Sectors,”Economic Trends (England), Feb. 1983, pp. 82-89.
32.
32. Victor Keegan, “Economics Notebook,”The Guardian, 23 Jan. 1984.
33.
33. Ibid.
34.
34. “1983 Was Worst Year Yet for Business Failure,”The Guardian, 3 Jan. 1984; this is a news item reporting the findings of the business information company, Dun and Bradstreet.
35.
35. Information extracted from various press reports, Jan. 1984.
36.
36. Linda Murgatroyd and John Urry, “The Class and Gender Restructuring of the Lancaster Economy, 1950-1980,”Localities, Class, and Gender, ed. Linda Murgatroydet al. (London: Pion Books, 1984); see also John Urry, “Deindustrialisation, Classes, and Politics,” in Capital and Politics, ed. Roger King (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1983).
37.
idem , Unequal Growth: Urban and Regional Employment Change in the United Kingdom (London: Heinemann, 1982).
38.
38. Doreen Massey and Richard Meegan, The Anatomy of Job Loss (London: Methuen, 1982).
39.
and “Unemployment, Multi-nationals and Manufacturing Employment,”Labour Research, 72(5):123-125 (1983).
40.
40. Our study is financed by the Economic and Social Research Council, whose support we here gratefully acknowledge.
41.
41. As reported in The Guardian, 1 Nov. 1983.
42.
42. “Living in Britain,” MORI poll for London Weekend Television; digest of results is available from London Weekend Television.
43.
43. T. H. Marshall, “Citizenship and Social Class,” in Class, Citizenship, and Social Development, T. H. Marshall (New York: Doubleday, 1964), p. 72.
44.
For further recent discussions of unemployment in Britain, see Adrian Sinfield, What Unemployment Means (Oxford: Martin Robertson, 1981); Brian Showler and Adrian Sinfield, eds., The Workless State (Oxford: Martin Robertson, 1981).
45.
45. Figures extracted from The Guardian—Marplan Index, published monthly in The Guardian.
46.
46. Ivor Crewe, “The Disturbing Truth behind Labour's Rout,”The Guardian, 13 June 1983; idem, “How Labour Was Trounced All Round,”The Guardian, 14 June 1983. These articles constitute a report on a BBC-sponsored survey by Gallup on the 1983 general election.
47.
47. H. F. Moorhouse, “American Automobiles and Workers' Dreams,”Sociological Review, 31(3):403-426 (1983).
48.
48. Ibid., p. 420.
49.
49. Marshall, Class, Citizenship, and Social Development.
50.
50. David Lockwood, “The Weakest Link in the Chain,” in Research in the Sociology of Work, ed. Ida Harper Simpson and Richard L. Simpson, vol 1 (Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 1981).
51.
51. Moorhouse, “American Automobiles and Workers' Dreams,” p. 409.
52.
52. Crewe, “Disturbing Truth.”
53.
53. John H. Goldthorpe, “Social Structure, Interests, and Political Partisanship,” mimeographed (Oxford: Nuffield College, 1983).
54.
54. See Bo Sarlvik and Ivor Crewe, Decades of Dealignment (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983); see also Alt, Politics of Economic Decline.
55.
55. See Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin, 23(3):333 (Sept. 1983).
56.
56. See Howard Newbyet al., “From Class Structure to Class Action: British Working Class Politics in the 1980s,” mimeographed (Colchester: University of Essex, 1983).
57.
57. Ray Pahl and Claire Wallace, “Household Work Strategies in Economic Recession,” House-hold Work Strategies Report No 4 (Canterbury: University of Kent, 1983).
58.
58. Ibid., pp. 41-42.
59.
59. Paul Barker, “Whistling in the Dark,”New Society, 29 Nov. 1979, p. 481.
60.
60. Ibid.
61.
61. Richard Rose, “Who Can't Get No Satisfaction?,”New Society, 7 Aug. 1980, pp. 265-266.
62.
62. Ibid., p. 266.
63.
63. Alt, Politics of Economic Decline.
64.
64. See report in The Guardian, 25 Mar. 1983.
65.
65. S. Miller, “Notes on Neo-capitalism,”Theory and Society, 2(1):28 (1975).
66.
66. Rose, “Who Can't Get No Satisfaction?,” p. 265.
67.
67. Marshall, “Citizenship and Social Class.”
68.
68. John H. Goldthorpe, “The Current Inflation: Towards a Sociological Account,” in The Political Economy of Inflation, ed. Fred Hirsch and John. H. Goldthorpe (Oxford: Martin Robertson, 1978), p. 202.
69.
69. David Lockwood, “For T. H. Marshall,”Sociology, 8:367 (1974).
