During the past thirty years, British society has been involved in a dynamic of social change, a process so significant that it represents an historical turning point, when the certainties that have served to regulate the economy in the past, are no longer valid. The last comparable event was the Industrial Revolution, which resulted in the majority of the population moving away from agricultural work to manufacturing work, with fewer and fewer agricultural workers supplying the food needs of the masses. Since the mid 1960's a similar process has occurred in relation to the proportion of the labor force engaged in manufacturing products for the rest of the population. The three decades of economic prosperity that followed the end of the Second World War, were to lead eventually to manufacturing decline and the growth of a service economy, a transition from an ‘industrial' to a ‘post industrial society'. (Bell, 1973) It is the decline of the manufacturing industries and the rise of the service sector that forms the basis for this piece of work.
[...] The Beveridgeian proposals, out of which the ‘welfare state' was born, were coupled with the application of Keynesian economic theories in the management of the economy, creating a social and system integration. The popular belief emerged that the ‘People's War' had accomplished more than just the overthrow of fascism. It had paved the way towards a better society, one in which the state's commitment to full employment constituted a ‘political consensus'. It was against this background, that the impetus for economic restructuring and a new wave of industrialization was set. [...]
[...] The doctrine of ‘liberalism', enshrined within the ideology and practices of the New Right and transmitted through the policies of the ‘Thatcher' Government, has led to the construction of a new form of economic environment, one in which emphasis is placed upon limiting state interference and creating the conditions in which profitable enterprise can flourish. Despite the confidence that was placed in ‘Monetarism' and the ‘free play of market forces', to bring about radical improvements within the British economy, unemployment has continued to rise steadily throughout the present government's term of office. [...]
[...] The economic effects of the change from Fordism to functional specialization or Post Fordism, have been dramatic, not only in the ‘deindustrialization' of manufacturing, but in terms of the social costs of such restructuring. The evidence of a shift from manufacturing to service industries is undeniable, so to are the indications that chronic unemployment, will endure as an increasingly common feature of Post Industrial Society. In evaluating the issue of who has gained and who has lost, as a result of economic restructuring, it is perhaps the glaring inadequacies of current economic policies, to address the problem of mass unemployment, to which one is initially drawn. [...]
[...] Just as Fordism developed out of very particular social and economic conditions, the dynamic of change was to impact upon its continuance as a dominant system of production and consumption. Between the mid 1960's and the 1970's British industry became less competitive internationally, failing to surpass the capitalist might of countries such as the United States, Japan and West Germany. British goods became too expensive in the world market, whilst imported goods in the domestic market were becoming cheaper and thus consumers in this country started to spend their money on them. [...]
[...] Conclusion Whilst there are those who have gained as a result of economic restructuring in Britain, there are also those who have unequivocally lost. There are a great many ‘losers' of economic restructuring in this country, as those involved in the ‘person centered' professions will undoubtedly testify. Perhaps the most obvious ‘losers', are those skilled individuals or trades people who have succumb to the sea change of flexible specialization. Historically, they may well have experienced job security and indeed prosperity, during the high tide of industrialization, when the guarantee of a for life' was not merely a utopian ideal, but a reality enjoyed by many. [...]
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