No one in England would claim that the radical readjustments of the national economy necessitated by the Second World War had yet been completed. Nevertheless, it is undoubtedly true that much progress has been made, in many ways even beyond the pre-war level of attainment, since the fighting came to an end; and certainly the past five and a half years have been a period of intense activity, aimed perhaps not so much at reconstruction of a former economic system but rather at building a structure which should be more in accord with popular aspirations than the kind of economy that prevailed before the war.

This interpretation of fundamental objectives is supported by a quick review of the tasks confronting Great Britain as she emerged from the war. First, and of immediate concern, was the delicate process of transition to a peace economy, involving the innumerable interlocking problems of switching manpower and physical resources back from war service to the purposes of a more peaceable way of life. Then there were more deep-seated problems to be faced, such as the replacement of physical assets, both social and economic, destroyed during the war or rendered obsolescent while the economic system had been concentrated upon the overriding purposes of war production. Along with these went a whole network of complicated problems of monetary reorganization, arising largely from the facts that in process of financing war requirements Britain's international position had been dramatically changed, from the status of a creditor country to that of a debtor, that her international reserves had been heavily reduced, and that her export trade had been ruthlessly sacrificed as part of the larger strategy of war. Finally, and underlying all these, was the widespread demand for the establishment of an economic system which should serve the needs of the people more effectively and more equitably than in times past, above all, one which should guarantee to every willing and competent citizen the continuous opportunity of remunerative employment. Naturally, there was wide disagreement about the best means of securing all these ends; but the ends themselves were generally accepted as necessary and worthy objectives.