I think the concept of ‘industrial nations giving up’ is a bit more complex than that. What we in the main have in the ‘industrial nations’ is Empires which have already mostly collapsed (only the US one remains) and when Empires collapse there is an enormous inertia inbuilt into the system which means they don’t just say ‘Oh well, it was good while it lasted!’ and start again, they take decades and decades to, as American Deplorables might say, ‘Get their Shit Together!’

My nation, the UK, ‘ruled the world’ in the late 1800s and early 1900s, became a secondary power after over-extending itself in WW I and lost its entire empire and global power as a result of WW II. The colonies all became independent and all we have left now are a few islands like the Falklands, the Rock of Gibraltar etc.

But the whole of British culture and institutional power is locked into all those imperial structures.

There is still a true hatred of independent minds, that ‘careless talk costs lives’ military ethic that has no place in domestic, peaceful, civic societies. We started finally flushing that through about 30 years ago, but there is not a body of confident, authoritative mentors guiding younger minds, so the young have just as many phobias as previous generations, they just make sure everybody knows about them. Hysterics about climate, hysterics about sexual identity, hysterics about skin colour. We are a long way as a nation from being an efficient, functioning society.

Problems and outrages remain and fester if they are not brought to light, talked through and brought to closure. Just look at how long it took just to bring justice to the deaths of 96 innocent football fans. The best part of 25 years. If that isn’t national incompetence on an epic scale, what is?

Then we have the whole parallel system of royal patronage, which makes for a totally schizophrenic nation. If you don’t believe in power and position being bestowed by genetics, you are undoubtedly discriminated against in the UK. But if you don’t believe in excellence as a result, you are trashed again. So you have to believe in excellence for the oiks and privilege for the titled. If that isn’t a load of old claptrap, what is?? The truly talented always come up against third generation buffoons who have more financial firepower.

Apart from all that, there are those whose familial history was absolutely entwined in the grand imperial adventure who would rather tiny pockets of the UK had first world power status, than the nation set forward on a course of being a beacon of excellence rather than a global power.

Whether you agree with everything Switzerland does (and many don’t), it has forged an enviable standard of living for its citizens not by fighting wars or conquering foreign lands, but by building an economy based on banking, chemicals/pharma/biotech, tourism and hosting plenty of global organisations.

We frittered away our north sea oil bonanza paying unemployment benefit and look what Norway did with theirs: created an intergenerational Sovereign Wealth Fund which totally funds their public sector administration costs in perpetuity. So you shouldn’t look up to us in terms of good government. We got relegated, deservedly so.

Of course, every time someone like me shines a light on the true state of my own country, we are accused of ‘hating the UK’. No, we don’t hate it, we merely have no delusions as to its true nature.

The first truism of excellence is that in order to aspire to it, you have to face up to your current capabilities.

That is the biggest national block of all in the UK: a series of moribund, not-fit-for-purpose institutions still wielding power their incompetence should have stripped them of decades ago.

And you know what the ‘elites’ would do in the end: toddle off somewhere else.

They made their money in the good times, no way will they hang around to endure the bad times they did so much to bring upon us all…..

In the UK to be allowed to succeed you must do three things:
1. Turn a blind eye to global murdering.
2. Embrace the Stasi spying culture that has existed for centuries.
3. Ass-lick upwards and bully downwards.

That’s the reality of Britain.

Always was, always will be.

It might be the way to succeed through war.

It is questionable whether you can succeed that way in a world committed to peace and goodwill.