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>Countries like Britain can only do it when they team up as in the EU. The Brexiters are essentially luddites who cannot see this writing on the wall The UK re

>Countries like Britain can only do it when they team up as in the EU. The Brexiters are essentially luddites who cannot see this writing on the wall The UK remains one of the world powers and the Pound Sterling one of the reserve currencies thanks to their familial ties with the Five Eyes and the Commonwealth Realm, and select friends like Japan. Island country and continent countries bloody hating each other is a tale older than history. If anything, it's the EU (namely France and Germany) who need to figure out how to get countries fully on board with them.

dijit 2y ago
> The UK remains one of the world powers and the Pound Sterling one of the reserve currencies With every passing year this becomes less true. The UK is in managed decline, the entire world knows it; its only brits themselves who see themselves as exceptional. (I’m British, living in Sweden).
- rich_sasha 2y ago
  Sad but true. The saddest bit IMO is the lack of even ideas for how to reverse it. Subsequent governments just rearrange the deck chairs and distribute blankets on the increasingly tilted deck. The current decline of universities' financial situation may be another terrible blow. One thing in which the UK is genuinely a top performer worldwide is higher education. But 3/4 are expected to go into the red this year, and the universities are increasingly stuffing their courses with whoever can pay their fees, regardless of ability.
tim333 2y ago
Yeah I was against Brexit as it was a huge upheaval that made trade with our main trading partners harder but small independent countries can do very well if they are open to trade and are run sensibly. Look at Singapore for example.
- surgical_fire 2y ago
  The problem with that line of thinking is that Singapore benefitted immensely from its geographical locations and from being an excellent port in a complicated region. England can hardly benefit from the same.
  - Dalewyn 2y ago
    What Britain doesn't have geographically is more than compensated with what they do have politically. Again: The familial ties and friends. The era we live in right now is Pax Americana, the United States is top dog. But so long as the United Kingdom remains aligned (those familial ties!) that means both and all of us are top dog. Same story with solid friends like Japan who also enjoys top dog status. It is a cold hard fact that Britain is no longer a superpower, it's also a cold hard fact that Britain wouldn't be a power period were they by themselves. Fortunately for them though, we are family. Countries like France and Germany only kind of sort of enjoy the benefits of Pax Americana because they are two-faced and greedy or worse. France suddenly getting kicked out of that nuclear sub deal with Australia and replaced by America and Britain was a brutal demonstration of an unseverable family blood and bond. As an aside, the British Isles are an "excellent port" in a "complicated region". America does appreciate having two giant and unsinkable carriers (USS Britain and USS Japan) next to potential hotspots in the world.
    - surgical_fire 2y ago
      Good reminder of why most US "allies" should be very wary of that alliance.
  - tim333 2y ago
    There are other smaller countries that do well. Norway, Australia, Japan, Switzerland etc. The UK has the #2 (or sometimes #1) financial center, ~4 out of the world's top 10 universities, #2 in Nobel prizes after the US, the most books published per capita etc. There's potential there if they sort the bad bits.
    - t43562 2y ago

dijit 2y ago

> The UK remains one of the world powers and the Pound Sterling one of the reserve currencies With every passing year this becomes less true. The UK is in managed decline, the entire world knows it; its only brits themselves who see themselves as exceptional. (I’m British, living in Sweden).

rich_sasha 2y ago
Sad but true. The saddest bit IMO is the lack of even ideas for how to reverse it. Subsequent governments just rearrange the deck chairs and distribute blankets on the increasingly tilted deck. The current decline of universities' financial situation may be another terrible blow. One thing in which the UK is genuinely a top performer worldwide is higher education. But 3/4 are expected to go into the red this year, and the universities are increasingly stuffing their courses with whoever can pay their fees, regardless of ability.

tim333 2y ago

Yeah I was against Brexit as it was a huge upheaval that made trade with our main trading partners harder but small independent countries can do very well if they are open to trade and are run sensibly. Look at Singapore for example.

surgical_fire 2y ago
The problem with that line of thinking is that Singapore benefitted immensely from its geographical locations and from being an excellent port in a complicated region. England can hardly benefit from the same.
- Dalewyn 2y ago
  What Britain doesn't have geographically is more than compensated with what they do have politically. Again: The familial ties and friends. The era we live in right now is Pax Americana, the United States is top dog. But so long as the United Kingdom remains aligned (those familial ties!) that means both and all of us are top dog. Same story with solid friends like Japan who also enjoys top dog status. It is a cold hard fact that Britain is no longer a superpower, it's also a cold hard fact that Britain wouldn't be a power period were they by themselves. Fortunately for them though, we are family. Countries like France and Germany only kind of sort of enjoy the benefits of Pax Americana because they are two-faced and greedy or worse. France suddenly getting kicked out of that nuclear sub deal with Australia and replaced by America and Britain was a brutal demonstration of an unseverable family blood and bond. As an aside, the British Isles are an "excellent port" in a "complicated region". America does appreciate having two giant and unsinkable carriers (USS Britain and USS Japan) next to potential hotspots in the world.
  - surgical_fire 2y ago
    Good reminder of why most US "allies" should be very wary of that alliance.
- tim333 2y ago
  There are other smaller countries that do well. Norway, Australia, Japan, Switzerland etc. The UK has the #2 (or sometimes #1) financial center, ~4 out of the world's top 10 universities, #2 in Nobel prizes after the US, the most books published per capita etc. There's potential there if they sort the bad bits.
  - t43562 2y ago