Science and the nation: towards new histories of twentieth-Century Britain*

Abstract

This article examines the technocratic and militaristic critiques of twentieth-century Britain, arguing that they often take the form of ‘anti-histories’ of British science and technology and of preparedness for war. Such critiques have been central in conventional accounts of Britain and its national identity. This article calls, instead, for a post-declinist and post-welfarist account of twentieth-century Britain, re-examining four cliched visions of key aspects of the historiography of twentieth-century Britain: ‘inter-war disarmament’, the ‘rise of the welfare state’, the ‘two cultures’ and the ‘White Heat’. Giving due emphasis to the history of the British ‘warfare state’, and the overlapping research enterprise, will not merely add to our existing picture but profoundly change it.