Britain declining?

It's military isn't in a class with the US, but then again, nobody's is. So it's at least a second rate power. And because it has a very effective special mission team, SAS, it can get what it needs done in this modern era. The SAS can be much more useful to a country like Britain, than an armada.

Plus Britain has stability. Something that bigger countries like Russia, China, India, and Brazil have no guarantee on. 

 

Nope. Britain is definately not declining. You base your argumment upon economic figures and therefore that is what I will argue on. The evidence produced by yourself to illustrate a declining state, has instead illustrated to me a stable, growing economy with a healthy employment rate (one other countries including my own and, i bet, yours would envy). Sure it shows lower growth rates than developing countries (including my own and yours), but that is expected in a developed economy. First off, the base that Britain is growing from is a lot larger than ours and it complies with the basic principle of risk vs. return. Britain falls right smack into the low risk category at the moment while our own economies, though showing higher growth rates, also represent higher risk for any foreign investor. The inflation, prime interest and growth rate are all in line with one another as expected, and their GDP growth is higher than the inflation rate, representing real growth, definately not decline. Britain might have been overtaken by other countries with regards to the sheer size of their economy but those that have overtaken it do posess larger populations, so it's only expected. Plus do you have any statistics of Britain's ranking wrt GDP a hundred years ago? I do not necessarily believe they were the biggest even back then.

 

The point then is that other countries have caught up/passed Britain rather than Britain has declined ?

Britain of course stopped functioning as a Global Superpower after 1947. It fought a rearguard action until the 1960's and has since become the Athen's to Rome's Rome, as it were.

 

So to ask if Britain is declining compared to superpower's such as the USA or China is a bit silly when it is common knowledge that Britain's pretensions to such ended after the Sueze disaster - and more realistically with Indian independence.

 

As a regional and modern power, among contemporaries of such calibre (ie Japan, Germany, France, etc) I would rate it highly. It's military, global garrisons and bases, economy and diplomatic influence give it a position I believe above most other countries in its league, and the ride on the back of American interventionism has enabled it to project a far wider cloak of power than it could ever have on its own.

Culturally it maintains that special niche that it was once king of, and is still the Athen's in Rome's Mediterranean world.

 

Since Thatcherism Britain has, relatively (and that is the key word here) seen somewhat of a rise, as opposed to a decline. With Brown not entirely shrieking away from the policies of Blairism it will be interesting to see if this new position on the global stage can be maintained.

 

Once again, it is rather silly to talk of a British decline relative to the superpower position of, say, the USA, especially as Britain's decline from that very same position happened some generations ago now.

 

 

Plate mails obsolete, now you tell me.

 

As long as nothing happens on my watch is all i care about, what britain will or will not be in a hundred years time is not of much relevance i will not be around for it to concern me.

 

if you read the british pirates thread you will see what motivated the creation of this thread, and was not for the purpose of sensible debate, the poll options alone speak volumes about this threads intentions, but alas the poll has largely backfired.

 

Iran made a mistake, we were fighting two wars at the time this happened, not much spare manpower for a third, these two wars are coming to a close now,

 

Originally posted by longshanks31 whatever tickles your pickle dude

 

�Por que no te callas!