A Target On Britain

Better late than never, I hope, some praise for the second instalment of Dominic Sandbrook's history of Britain during the Cold War.

A few quotations:

"We came to define ourselves less as citizens than as consumers." Exactly,. Both sides were materialists, differing only on details. Including the side that won the War Within Materialism.

"Who needs religion, when you've got white goods?" Quite so. Both sides were trapped in the same materialistic paradigm. So they were both wrong.

"We were richer, more comfortable, better fed, better housed than ever. Yet the world might end at the touch of a button."

"By hosting the Thors, the Government had effectively drawn a target on Britain and invited the Kremlin to take aim."

On the BBC's refusal to broadcast an accurate documentary in case it undermined public support for nuclear weapons, "In Cold War Britain, the authorities thought it better to maintain public confidence than to be completely honest."

"We were being overtaken [economically] by West Germany and Japan, both of which were prohibited from spending so much money on defence." 

But the Beatles' message of sex was "a shock to Communist values"? To coin a phrase, imagine... And which parts of the Soviet account of hysteria and vandalism at rock'n'roll concerts was incorrect? Or not made by Western conservatives? 

Still, it was glorious to hear the words of Malcolm Bradbury that, "Sociology is the only genuine subject on the curriculum: Rhodesia, decimal currency, abortion, Coronation Street." Who is today's Bradbury?

Perhaps Sandbrook is? Tune into BBC Two at 9pm on Tuesday for what promises to be a brilliant conclusion.