There is an interesting note about Nationalism from George Orwell writing just after the second world war (HERE) with some terrific insights into the differences between the patriot and the nationalist. This was sparked off by a piece in The New Statesman by Paul Heslop (HERE) about the age of outrage as Ian calls the present time.
However, in reading it I note how Orwell talked about empire and how it was a captive market for British goods. I hadn't really thought of it like that but of course this is exactly what it was. The railways in India were built by British workers in Britain along with a lot of other stuff that we supplied in return for Indian tea. We made money both ways, selling them our expensive goods and buying their cheap ones - and then selling them on expensively to other countries.
My neighbour has always believed we were never competitive and I think this might be correct. It was the empire that made it appear that we were. After brexit we are going to have to change a couple of centuries of industrial practice in a year or two!
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