Seventy years earlier, Britain withdrew from most of its colonies. Now Britain has decided to withdraw from the EU.
The British acumen was one of the most dominant in the world in the 18th and 19th centuries. The British leveraged the value of globalisation through trade and colonisation. It had the confidence and gumption to tread into unchartered territories and exert its durable influence. It could expand and amass wealth and prestige. That was that time (and up until the middle of the 20th century), the sun did not set in the British Empire.
The world order changed post the WW-II. The relative influence of the British substantially reduced; though it did remain a major force. It retained its competitive edge and standard of living because of the wealth it has accumulated over the past couple of centuries.
However, in the last 70 years, guess the British wealth creation and gumption continued to slip - despite the pound notionally gaining in value. We now are in a situation where a majority of Britain have voted to withdraw further and protect a smaller pie; rather than having the confidence to venture out to the large EU market and may hay. If we consider Scotland, Ireland and London voted in favour of a posture of a expansionary posture - then a much larger majority (compared to the slim 52/48 split) of the average working class people in England wanted to leave the EU.
This means, the self-assurance, confidence, productivity and wealth creation of the average English has fallen. They prefer to erect protective barriers against the onslaught working class from Poland, rather brushing their shoulders with the best of the world and exerting greater economic influence in the EU.
This is the ying and the yang at play. 200 years of ascendance,versus 70 years of slipping. But I am not sure, if the English psyche has bottomed out yet. Someone has to stem the rot. Else, we will see another major disturbing event very soon. M/s Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage are you listening.
The British acumen was one of the most dominant in the world in the 18th and 19th centuries. The British leveraged the value of globalisation through trade and colonisation. It had the confidence and gumption to tread into unchartered territories and exert its durable influence. It could expand and amass wealth and prestige. That was that time (and up until the middle of the 20th century), the sun did not set in the British Empire.
The world order changed post the WW-II. The relative influence of the British substantially reduced; though it did remain a major force. It retained its competitive edge and standard of living because of the wealth it has accumulated over the past couple of centuries.
However, in the last 70 years, guess the British wealth creation and gumption continued to slip - despite the pound notionally gaining in value. We now are in a situation where a majority of Britain have voted to withdraw further and protect a smaller pie; rather than having the confidence to venture out to the large EU market and may hay. If we consider Scotland, Ireland and London voted in favour of a posture of a expansionary posture - then a much larger majority (compared to the slim 52/48 split) of the average working class people in England wanted to leave the EU.
This means, the self-assurance, confidence, productivity and wealth creation of the average English has fallen. They prefer to erect protective barriers against the onslaught working class from Poland, rather brushing their shoulders with the best of the world and exerting greater economic influence in the EU.
This is the ying and the yang at play. 200 years of ascendance,versus 70 years of slipping. But I am not sure, if the English psyche has bottomed out yet. Someone has to stem the rot. Else, we will see another major disturbing event very soon. M/s Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage are you listening.
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