(How) Britain’s Collapse is a Warning to the World
The Moral of Brexit Britain’s Descent into the Underworld of Modernity
In my last essay about Britain, I catalogued the shocking privations that Brits are going through — it’s descent into neo Dickensian poverty. This is what becoming a failed state is. This time, though, I want to discuss the moral of the story: modern day Britain is a warning to the world. Of just how severely, swiftly, and shockingly a society can fail — how fast and hard it can all come crashing down.
But is the world learning that lesson? Particularly Europe, which is a decade or so behind Britain, in its dalliance with the fanatical, extreme right? Is the future of Europe — and America — Britain? This is a serious warning, because, well, this is where flirting with the fanatical, far right ends.
The shocking thing about Britain today isn’t just its absolutely catastrophic list of self-made problems. But let’s begin there, and then I’ll come back to the really shocking part.
How hard and fast can a society fail? Consider Britain’s list of self-inflicted wounds. It’s economy’s been shattered — the only rich country to still be below pre-pandemic levels, and that’s going to persist through much of the decade, since, well, now it’s in recession. 20% of kids in London…
