Post-War UK: Modern Liberalism applied

• The post WW2 period in the UK can be seen as a key example of the application of modern liberal principles
• Central to this transformative period was the implementation of the Beveridge Report, which lard the foundation for the modern welfare state
• The Beveridge report 1942 outlined a comprehensive social insurance system designed to address the major social evils
• What are the social evils in the Beveridge Report?

  1. Want
  2. Disease
  3. Ignorance
  4. Squalor
  5. Idleness
• What exemplified the shift towards a more interventionist enabling state that works to enable positive freedom?

  Establishment of NHS in 1948 and the expansion of the welfare state
• In line with modern liberal economic thinking, post-war UK also saw the implementation of progressive taxation where the tax rate increases as income increases, ensuring a fairer distribution of wealth and funding for public services
• The economic management of the period was heavily influences by Keynesian principles

  The government adopted policies of fiscal stimulus and state intervention in the economy to manage demand, prevent unemployment and foster post-war recovery
• This period in the UK also represented a profound reimagining of the role of the state in society

  It marked a clear departure from classical liberalism’s minimal state, embracing instead a vision where the state actively ensures the welfare and rights of all its citizens, striving for a society characterised by not just formal freedoms, but real and meaningful opportunities for all