In With The Old

The industrial revolution seemed to presage a fundamental upheaval of British society and an overturning of the traditional social hierarchies. For the first time a burgeoning middle-class emerged, as innovation, technical knowledge and entrepreneurial skills - as opposed to an accident of birth - were rewarded with vast riches. Men like Richard Arkwright, Josiah Wedgewood and Isambard Kingdom Brunel achieved fame, recognition and vast fortunes. But rather than challenge and reshape society, they were absorbed into it, becoming the new aristocracy and reinforcing the old elites. And so it was with postwar British culture. Creativity - like entrepreneurial spirit - is no respecter of class or breeding.