2006-09-16 11:11:26 · 5 answers · asked by historybuff 1 in Social Science ➔ Economics
UK lost alot of colonies soon after WW2 which cut strategic exports. Also the British pound was a major reserve currency just like the US dollar is today. Many nations were cashing in on the pound for US dollars which badly hurt the British economy. India becomming independent was a major blow to the british economy as well.
USSR prospered because it had a huge population with many being former serfs(slaves) who were idealistic. As well USSR took many of Germanys factories and brougth them to Russia after WW2 allowing USSR to industralize in only 12 years and at one time having a better living standard then USA.
2006-09-17 08:18:44 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
England was already on the decline due to previous colonial losses, but it lost more of its colonies during WWII which was the source of its wealth. USSR prospered because it had its own natural resources it could exploit. Its industrial base moved eastward during the Nazi invasion into regions not yet developed and when the Nazis were expelled, USSR re-developed its western industrial base again, including its satellite countries like Eastern Germany, Poland, Hungary etc..
2006-09-16 11:19:49 · answer #2 · answered by waplambadoobatawhopbamboo 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That is a extremely broad question. There have been books written on that subject alone. You need to do a little research in order to answer this completely. There are a myriad of reasons for this. I will try to give you the basics in order to get you in the right direction. The UK along with the rest of Europe were over extended in their colonies after the war. They simply could not afford to administer them anymore. They tried for awhile with several, but that proved to be a mistake.
The USSR under Stalin got lucky. Stalin knew that the other Allies did not want another war. So, he very quickly brought eastern Europe under his control. All of Eastern Europe had been under Nazi control, and were too disorganized to do anything about it.
That is the basic skinny of your question. But like I said, that is too broad a topic to fully address here. You need to do some more research to answer it properly.
2006-09-16 11:24:51 · answer #3 · answered by wileycoyote_the_supergenius 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
England's role as the leader of the capitalistic world was usurped by the USA after WWII when the US decided, contrary to the end of WWI, to remain in the realm of international politics.
2006-09-16 17:18:10 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
the country was in shambles after the war london was nothing but a wasteland and the prime minister wanted to rebuild his country
2006-09-16 11:22:09 · answer #5 · answered by flounder_bob@sbcglobal.net 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋