Class and the Establishment

Question 1

What had happened by the late 1950s?

Answer 1

Signs of a shift in attitudes, hinting at the gradual breakdown of old social restrictions and a loss of deference.

Question 2

Give 2 factors that showed a loss of deference.

Answer 2

Suez Crisis 1956 - exposed blatant lying and manipulation by the government.
CND 1958 - encouraged tendency to challenge authority.

Question 3

What was the ‘Establishment’?

Answer 3

A term for the informal networks that connected the social and political elites.

Question 4

Who were these social and political elites?

Answer 4

Privileged people who had influence and who ‘knew the people who mattered’.
It included the aristocracy, politicians, civil servants, judges, bishops, diplomats, officers in the armed forces and the leaders of business and the media.