In Social-Imperialism in Britain Neil Redfern examines the relationship between British labour and British capital in the two world wars of the twentieth century. He argues that the Second World War, the so-called ‘People’s War’, no less than the First World War, was an imperialist war. He further argues that in both wars labour and capital entered into a social-imperialist contract in which labour would be rewarded for its support for war with such social and political reforms as votes for women and a health service, culminating in the ‘welfare state’ constructed after the Second World War. Concentrating on Lancashire, he examines the complex interaction between military successes and reverses, elite war aims, labour unrest and popular demands for reform.

The British Empire is part covered three centuries, five continents and onequarter of the world's population. Its legacy continues, shaping the societies and welfare policies of much of the modern world. In this book, for the first time, this legacy is explored and analysed. Colonialism and Welfare reveals that social welfare policies, often discriminatory, and challenging to those colonised were introduced and imposed by the ?mother country.' It highlights that there was great diversity in rationales and impacts across the empire, but past developments had a major impact on the development of much of the world's population. Contributions from every continent explore both the diversity and the common themes in the imperial experience. They examine the legacy of colonial welfare - a subject largely neglected by both historians of empire and social policy analysts. This original book shows that social welfare today cannot be understood without understanding the legacy of the British Empire. Academics, specialised students with an interest in comparative social policy, history of social policy, imperial history, colonialism, and contemporary third world social policy will find this book invaluable to their studies.

In many and varied forms, the Radical Right has been a hyper-nationalist thorn in the side of Britain's liberal political system for over 100 years. This book examines its troublesome history, and its critique of British society.

Imperialism and Social Reform (1960) examines British social-imperialism and the development of social-imperial thought: the promotion of a ‘people’s imperialism’, or the support of the working classes for the imperialist system. It looks at the social and economic background and analyses the various forms of social-imperial thought, including the vigorous strand of imperial-socialists, who asserted that the welfare of the working classes depended upon imperial strength.

This book examines the intrusion of imperialist modes of thought into the domestic politics of the Edwardian period and the war years. The author analyzes the fusion of social-imperialist ideology with the Lloyd George insurgency in the Liberal Party and reinforces the hypothesis that European imperialism in this era aligned itself with progressive Liberalism to form the chief defense against rising democratic and socialist forces. Major events of the war years such as the collapse of the Liberal Party and the dispute over war aims are shown to be the products of the continuing conflict between these forces rather than merely the result of the circumstances of war. The author describes the development of the body of social-imperialist ideas and strategies between the Boer War and the formation of the Lloyd George Coalition of 1916. The political course of the Coalition idea is traced past the crisis of 1910 into the war years and the debate over plans for reconstruction. Thus, the Coalition of 1916 is seen mainly as an outgrowth of the prewar political crisis—a device originally designed as a response to domestic issues and adapted only later to the pressures of war. This original interpretation of the Coalition and its origins establishes the historical significance of social imperialism and places Lloyd George and the British right in new perspective. Originally published in 1975. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

What was British imperialism and was it an important element of modern globalization? Were economic, political or military factors paramount in imperial expansion? Do post-colonial theories assist or mislead historians? How have histories of imperialism changed, and are current analyses satisfactory? Robert Johnson's invaluable guide offers a succint, easy-to-follow introduction to the key issues and historiography of British imperialism from its origins to the conversion to the Commonwealth. British Imperialism - Provides concise introductions to key questions and debates - Takes a question-based approach to analysis of the material - Offers an assessment of the significance of economic, military and political factors in imperial expansion and decolonization - Presents critical appraisals of the most recent controversies including neo-colonialism, cultural imperialism, post-colonial theory, and gender and imperialism - Includes a useful guide to further reading Using vivid examples, Johnson clearly explains the nature of British imperialism and enables the reader to understand the causes, course and immediate consequences of the British-colonial encounter on a world-wide scale. His book is an essential starting point for all those new to the subject and a helpful introduction to more recent debates.

The publication by Longman of P J Cain and A.G. Hopkins two-volume study of "British Imperialism" (1688-1914; 1914-1994) caused a sensation amongst historians of European imperialism and economic international history. The theory of `gentlemanly capitalism' - the complex of economic, social and political power centring on the City of London - which they developed to explain Britain's imperial expansion has since been expanded , both in its original theory and its implications. Here now is a purpose-built volume prepared in collaboration with the original authors which reviews the latest state of scholarship in the field and develops it further.

First published as part of the best-selling The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain, Christopher Harvie and Colin Matthew's Very Short Introduction to Nineteenth-Century Britain is a sharp but subtle account of remarkable economic and social change and an even more remarkable political stability. Britain in 1789 was overwhelmingly rural, agrarian, multilingual, and almost half Celtic. By 1914, when it faced its greatest test since the defeat of Napoleon, it was largely urban and English. Christopher Harvie and Colin Matthew show the forces behind Britain's rise to its imperial zenith, and the continuing tensions within the nations and classes of the 'union state'. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.