Overview

Many commentators tell us that, in today's world, everyday life has become selfish and atomisedDLthat individuals live only to consume. But are they wrong?In Me, Me, Me, Jon Lawrence re-tells the story of England since the Second World War through the eyes of ordinary peopleDLincluding his own parentsDL 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.He 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.Community 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 communityDLit is all too easy to hold on to a nostalgic view of the past.

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9780198779544

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A vivid and convincing argument about the eternal tug between individualism and community. * Peter Mandler, History Today, Books of the Year 2019 * [A] lively and generous study ... Lawrence's argument is stronger for the way in which it goes against the grain of prevailing thought about social change ... Me, Me, Me? gives its readers a vital alternative prism through which to view present-day social divisions. * Lynsey Hanley, The Financial Times * This richly researched history [...] uncovers the reality behind romantic cliches of our postwar past. [Lawrence] convincingly suggests that the real history of community is one in which people have combined solidarity with self-reliance and privacy ... He makes his case with great clarity. * Selina Todd, The Guardian * A refreshingly optimistic and generally convincing study. * A. W. Purdue, The Times Higher Education Supplement * An evocative exploration of how working-class attitudes have evolved over time in Britain [...] which reads with the colour and interest of a novel. * Gordon Parsons, The Morning Star * Well-researched, engaging and highly informative, with real world examples from all over the country, this book is a must-read for anybody interested in learning about the complexities of British cultural heritage and society. * Colour PR Blog *

Author Information

Professor Jon Lawrence works on modern British social, cultural, and political history, and is now based at the University of Exeter. He has previously taught at University College, London, the University of Liverpool, Harvard University, and the University of Cambridge. Jon has published extensively on British social and political history including Speaking for the People: Party, Language and Popular Politics in England, 1867-1914 (1998) and Electing Our Masters: The Hustings in British Politics from Hogarth to Blair (2009). He has written for the London Review of Books, History Today, Renewal and BBC History Magazine, and has contributed to television history programmes on BBC2, Channel 4 and the Parliament Channel.

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