3 ms·

I get where you are coming from. But to play devils advocate, a lot of us aspire to be less important on the world stage. There are lots of things I am proud

by 7952 6y ago

I get where you are coming from. But to play devils advocate, a lot of us aspire to be less important on the world stage. There are lots of things I am proud about, but big power politics is not one of them. Nor does success in other areas require us to play those kind of games. We need to get over out inferiority complex. We are not exceptionally powerful or exceptionally week. We can have modest aspirations in one area whilst excelling in others.

Lio 6y ago
Given that social media often has the affect of an echo chamber I think that "a lot of us aspire to be less important" is hard to take as anything more than "some of my friends aspire". You might feel that we have an "inferiority complex" but that's just your take on it. The UK is one of the world's leading military powers by most measurements. The left wing meme that Britain should accept a smaller role in the world or that our economy is too small to mater does not chime with reality. For the record I think that leaving the EU has made us weaker and more isolated.
- 7952 6y ago
  I think my views are heavily influenced by the resurgence of nationalism. And I see that nationalism as being indicative of an inferiority complex in a lot of our world dealings. So that does colour my views on this kind of thing. But I would never presume to speak on behalf of others, or that my views have any wider applicability. And why should they? These are political views about the future of our country. There is no objective reality to chime with. A perception of our past has nothing to do with our future direction. I absolutely agree that Britain has a serious economy and ability to project power. But that is not an objective reason to have a particular kind of foreign policy. Or to spend lots of money on reproducing a foreign military capability.
gorgoiler 6y ago
An aspect it is ok to embrace is the culture. The UK is second only to Sweden in terms of global pop music influence.
- sideshowb 6y ago
  How do you measure that? Much though Abba are great I'd put the UK ahead of Sweden on that scale
- growlist 6y ago
  'culture'
- mrep 6y ago
  What? Wiki says "Pop music has been dominated by the American and (from the mid-1960s) British music industries, whose influence has made pop music something of an international monoculture" [0]. I mean, Zara Larsson has got some catchy songs but that's the only Swede I can think of off the top of my head. Compared to the US and the UK whose got Michael Jackson and Madonna, known respectively as the "King and Queen of Pop", the Beatles and more. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_music#International_spread https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_music#International_spread

by 7952 6y ago

Lio 6y ago

Given that social media often has the affect of an echo chamber I think that "a lot of us aspire to be less important" is hard to take as anything more than "some of my friends aspire". You might feel that we have an "inferiority complex" but that's just your take on it. The UK is one of the world's leading military powers by most measurements. The left wing meme that Britain should accept a smaller role in the world or that our economy is too small to mater does not chime with reality. For the record I think that leaving the EU has made us weaker and more isolated.

7952 6y ago
I think my views are heavily influenced by the resurgence of nationalism. And I see that nationalism as being indicative of an inferiority complex in a lot of our world dealings. So that does colour my views on this kind of thing. But I would never presume to speak on behalf of others, or that my views have any wider applicability. And why should they? These are political views about the future of our country. There is no objective reality to chime with. A perception of our past has nothing to do with our future direction. I absolutely agree that Britain has a serious economy and ability to project power. But that is not an objective reason to have a particular kind of foreign policy. Or to spend lots of money on reproducing a foreign military capability.

gorgoiler 6y ago

An aspect it is ok to embrace is the culture. The UK is second only to Sweden in terms of global pop music influence.

sideshowb 6y ago
How do you measure that? Much though Abba are great I'd put the UK ahead of Sweden on that scale
growlist 6y ago
'culture'
mrep 6y ago
What? Wiki says "Pop music has been dominated by the American and (from the mid-1960s) British music industries, whose influence has made pop music something of an international monoculture" [0]. I mean, Zara Larsson has got some catchy songs but that's the only Swede I can think of off the top of my head. Compared to the US and the UK whose got Michael Jackson and Madonna, known respectively as the "King and Queen of Pop", the Beatles and more. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_music#International_spread https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_music#International_spread