The previous article said that after the first industrial revolution of , the United Kingdom became the world's largest capitalist powerhouse. Then they began to colonize and expand outside, plundering a large number of resources. Not to mention anything else, just the two Opium Wars , Britain plundered a large amount of wealth and compensation from China, and occupied our Hong Kong.
These are just part of the British colonial plunder. Britain also plundered a lot of wealth in India, Africa, Latin America . It can be said that Britain obtained its first pot of gold through colonial plunder.
The British at that time had so much money in their hands, but why did they become what they are now? Less than a year later, Britain changed three prime ministers, and the economy became worse and worse. People's meals are a problem. What is the reason? Let me tell you my point of view for reference only.
1. Illegal wealth cannot be kept
We all know that Britain completed the original capital accumulation through colonial plunder, although Britain once had dozens of colonies. But after the end of World War II , these countries gradually got rid of British colonial rule. Although there are still several Commonwealth countries now, they do not accept British control. Now that the colonies are gone, can we still plunder resources?
2. Missed The Second Industrial Revolution
Britain made Britain first enter the steam era through the first industrial revolution . However, Britain held a lot of wealth in its hands, but did not develop technology and improve its productivity. It did not make good use of this wealth, and it still searched for wealth in the colonies.
It was from this time that the United States and Germany began to gradually rise, and Britain's status as the world's number one capitalist country began to gradually give way to the United States.
3. The ability to rely on itself after World War II was lost
Although Britain missed an era and experienced World War II, the lean camel was bigger than a horse, and the economic foundation of Britain did not completely collapse.
After the end of the war, Britain could fully utilize the foundation laid before to develop its economy and resume production. Then Britain chose to join the capitalist camp of the United States and became a follower of the United States to join the Cold War . Don't find your past glory.
4. Lack of confidence in the future and destiny of the country
The most obvious thing is the issue of Brexit. Let’s not discuss whether Brexit is right or wrong. The UK has been arguing over whether to leave the EU for a long time, which shows that from government officials to ordinary people, they know nothing about the future of the country and are even at a loss.
There is also less than a year this year, the UK has changed three prime ministers. This shows that British government officials are powerless to do anything about the current situation in the UK. No one can come up with practical policies to change the status quo.
