The problem is a hierarchical, deferential culture. Ex-UK countries that have been successful have thrown that yoke off - India is currently struggling to do so

The problem is a hierarchical, deferential culture. Ex-UK countries that have been successful have thrown that yoke off - India is currently struggling to do so - and moved to a model less concerned with status and offense. Bureaucracy is great for running an empire, terrible for fostering startups. This is the same reason the hinterlands are so neglected and Ireland hates the English so much, by the way. The caste/Eton-focused system means that power will always be concentrated in London, and newcomers are not welcome. One day it will crumble, but that day has yet to come.