England's discontents - Mike Wayne

Britain is a battleground of competing political cultures. Their intricate alliances and growing tensions have shaped state and civil society from the 19th century to today, as they try to deal with the problems created by economic liberalism.

This book looks at five of the most dominant political cultures at play: conservatism, social liberalism, economic liberalism, social democracy and socialism. Mike Wayne unearths their relationships to cultural identities and popular representations such as rural England, gentlemanly capitalism, industrialism and Empire. He analyses the pathological implications of economic liberalism in relation to recent events including the Scottish Referendum and Brexit.

In doing so, he reveals that England's enduring attachment to the economic liberalism is in danger of eroding all other political cultures, even conservatism and liberalism.