Me, me, me? : the search for community in post-war England / Jon Lawrence.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lawrence, Jon, 1961- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Communities.

History.

Great Britain--Social conditions--1945-.

Great Britain.

Social conditions.

Communities--England--History--20th century.

Communities--England--History--21st century.

England--Social life and customs--1945-.

England.

Manners and customs.

England--Civilization--1945-.

Civilization.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xvii, 327 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2019.

Summary:

Many commentators tell us that, in today's world, everyday life has become selfish and atomised-that individuals live only to consume. But are they wrong?0In Me, Me, Me, Jon Lawrence re-tells the story of England since the Second World War through the eyes of ordinary people-including his own parents- to argue that, in fact, friendship, family, and place all remain central to our daily lives, and whilst community has changed, it is far from dead. 0He shows how, in the years after the Second World War, people came increasingly to question custom and tradition as the pressure to conform to societal standards became intolerable. And as soon as they could, millions escaped the closed, face-to-face communities of Victorian Britain, where everyone knew your business. But this was not a rejection of community per se, but an attempt to find another, new way of living which was better suited to the modern world. 0Community has become personal and voluntary, based on genuine affection rather than proximity or need. We have never been better connected or able to sustain the relationships that matter to us. Me, Me, Me? makes that case that it's time we valued and nurtured these new groups, rather than lamenting the loss of more 'real' forms of community-it is all too easy to hold on to a nostalgic view of the past.

Contents:

1 Family and Place p. 19

2 Community and Private Life in Post-War England p. 41

3 Moving Out p. 72

4 Getting On: The Booming South p. 103

5 The Swinging Sixties on Tyneside p. 135

6 The Dream Is Over p. 164

7 Into the Millennium p. 195.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780198779537

0198779534

OCLC:

1091693893