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The article avoids the most interesting period of the decline and fall of our economy which is post-WW2, a period in which America played a substantial role
by switch007 2y ago
The article avoids the most interesting period of the decline and fall of our economy which is post-WW2, a period in which America played a substantial role
- philwelch 2y agoWW1 was the critical period. Part of the reason Britain was so insistent on high levels of reparations from Germany is because they needed the money to pay their war debts to the US, which they ultimately defaulted on at the start of the Depression.
- orwin 2y ago1915 was peak coal in England , 2004 peak gas and 2008 peak oil in the north sea.
- switch007 2y agoNot that coal disappeared shortly after 1915. It was going relatively strong until the mid 60s and dropped to 1/3 of the peak in the 80s. In terms of production tonnage
- orwin 2y agoYes. To be very clear, due to technological improvements allowing better eROI and better access to resources that couldn't be exploited previously, a "peak" isn't catastrophic: the production just become flat and sightly down as the best mines empty out. But having to import energy sources from outside your country is a good way to limit your industry growth.
- tonyedgecombe 2y agoThe UK coal industry employed over a million people in the early 20th century.
- wqaatwt 2y agoAlso Britain sacrificed its industry in favor of the banking sector (there were of course other more complicated factors) by refusing to devalue their currency like France did.
- switch007 2y agoAh. I'm biased by my younger age and more interest in WW2
- fmajid 2y agoAt the onset of WW2, the UK was still a technology superpower: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tizard_Mission https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tizard_Mission The war proved ruinous to the UK in a way WW1 wasn’t because of the destruction visited by the Luftwaffe, and the UK squandered its lion’s share of the Marshall Plan on maintaining Imperial pretenses: https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/modern/marshall_01.shtml https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/modern/marshall_01.sht...
- philwelch 2y agoI agree with you and I think we’re both right. WW2 made things much worse for Britain, and Britain was still in a very strong position in 1940 compared to the other European powers (along with leading the world in multiple key technical endeavors) but WW1 was when things started going downhill for them. If you went back to 1900 or even 1910 it would have probably been unthinkable that Britain would default on a foreign debt or allow a foreign rival to match the Royal Navy, and yet Britain did both of those during the interwar period—the latter of which was agreed to with a formal treaty, negotiated and signed in that foreign rival’s capital city!
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]