Empire Socialism Part 7

Post-war empire socialism in the UK

Since the beginning of the twentieth century there has been almost continuous conflict over resources and control, and the first war never finished according to some analysis). After the second world war capitalist Europe was on its knees, the Soviet Union was strong and had been a major contributor to Hitler’s defeat. Working class people were quite happy to think of living under regimes that weren’t capitalist and the ruling class were scared. They didn’t want people to look to the Soviet Union and start taking apart the countries they came back to. In Britain the infrastructure was bombed and worn out, attempts at regeneration were held back by systemic problems like the coal and steel industries being a confused muddle of different owners fighting with each other. The shock of the war meant that the old empire was beginning to crumble, despite vicious repression meted out. The USA came out of the conflict unscathed, and quietly started to take control of the English speaking empire from the enfeebled hands of the former master, forced to gradually withdraw over the next thirty years or so. US colonialism taking the form of economic domination through local proxies without going to the bother of conquering places, at least in part. But don’t forget the Pentagon admit to around six hundred US military bases that exist all over the world…