Traditionally, improvements in the quality of life in Britain resulted from the temporary fusion of sometimes opposite interests which spurred Parliamentary action. Therefore, reform was rarely a party issue. Each reform question was treated separately and never as a part of a body of similar measures. Individuals were free to support or oppose particular reforms according to their own interests and motivations. The result of this lack of strong consistent reformist sentiment was a pattern of piece-meal legislative action with a notable absence of comprehensive social planning. The First World War, however, brought new challenges to British society. As the traditional, haphazard method of dealing with problems of social organization failed to meet the needs of a nation engaged in a total war, British society came to accept a high degree of central control and guidance under the banner of national efficiency. This acceptance of social planning opened up new opportunities to those reformers who had long sought to undertake the cure or Britain's social ills on a massive scale.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:pdx.edu/oai:pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu:open_access_etds-3380 |
| Date | 18 February 1975 |
| Creators | Eder, Norman Richard |
| Publisher | PDXScholar |
| Source Sets | Portland State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Dissertations and Theses |
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