Postwar Britain needed investment and a realistic national strategy

How could postwar Britain restore productive capacity closer to West Germany's trajectory?

Invest in infrastructure and take a more realistic view of Britain's position. The comparison links the funding shortfall to lower postwar aid and national pride.

Infrastructure investment is the proposed route to restoring Britain's productive capacity after the war. The comparison attributes Britain's lower receipt of reconstruction aid to its position as a victorious country and its claims that it did not need the money. National pride is therefore treated as an obstacle to obtaining investment. A more realistic appraisal of Britain's world position in the 1950s would have placed its need for infrastructure funding more clearly before policymakers.