"The turn of the millennium generated a spate of reflections on the state of the nation and the ways in which life in Britain had changed during the course of the twentieth century. Affluence and Authority contributes to this debate by providing a wide-ranging, well-informed and accessible interpretation of British social history during a hundred years of profound, and almost certainly unprecedented, economic, political, cultural, demographic and ideological change. John Benson's study lays particular emphasis upon material conditions in accounting for the underlying stability of society during the course of this turbulent century.

He argues that despite the fact that many groups shared only haltingly and uncertainly in the benefits of economic growth, it is the long-term improvement in the standard of living that provides the single most important key to understanding the social history of twentieth-century Britain."--Jacket.