Reasons for the decline of Britain

Reasons for Britain's decline after World War II;

1, Britain has lost the advantage of industrial technology. Although Britain was the forerunner and absolute leader of the first industrial revolution, according to the British population survey of 185 1, agriculture is still the largest industry in Britain. However, the second industrial revolution occurred in several advanced countries almost at the same time, but the main countries for technological inventions were not Britain, but Germany and the United States.

3. The economic restructuring was not carried out in time. The British economy takes cotton spinning, coal, steel and shipbuilding as its pillar industries, and Britain's leading position in these industries is the key factor to maintain Britain's economic advantage. However, after 1870, the equipment in these industries has become outdated and backward, and Britain has not updated its technical equipment in time.

The British economy is highly dependent on foreign countries. Before World War I, Britain accounted for almost half of the total investment in the world, and the second-ranked United States only accounted for 19%. The export of capital has made London the financial center of the world, and Britain has also made huge profits in international trade. However, the continuous transfer of funds from home to abroad has restricted domestic production investment and technological innovation, resulting in the external dependence of the British economy.

The backward education has brought a fatal blow to the British economy. At the same time, Germany is far ahead of Britain in this respect. By the end of 19, the unified Germany had achieved the popularization of primary education and greatly improved the overall scientific quality of the people. The great achievements of German science education have promoted the development of German economy and played a great role in its industrialization.

5. The entrepreneurial spirit is lost. This is because in British society, the worship of nobles and their way of life is almost deeply rooted. After starting a business, the first generation of entrepreneurs often want to train their children and grandchildren into nobles. As a result, after several generations, the passion for starting a business disappeared. In fact, whether it is a country or an individual, often after being in an advantageous position, there will be a kind of inertia.

Extended data

The history of British decline;

Many historians believe that the first step leading to the decline of this empire that never sets in the sun began with the Boer War. The war broke out in 1899, when the Boers in South Africa and the British had a conflict of interest over gold and diamonds. The British army sent to fight thought victory was in sight, but the Boer guerrilla tactics gave them a headache.

Although the British used various means, including setting up concentration camps, it finally took two years to suppress the Boer uprising. The cost of this war is enormous, especially the invincible image of the empire has been seriously damaged.

At the beginning of last century, Britain's economy depended largely on its economic operation in the colonies. Whether in Africa, India or British colonies in Southeast Asia, these areas not only provide Britain with a lot of cheap raw materials and labor, but also provide Britain with a market.

British industrial products seem to have no external competitive pressure in their colonial markets. While Britain naturally exports a large number of industrial products to these areas, its industrial production capacity and efficiency are declining, especially compared with the newly emerging United States and Germany.

1939, World War II started, and Britain was poorly prepared before the war, which was obviously not as good as Germany. On the European battlefield, the British army was slow to act and improper in command, and soon fell into a tight encirclement. Without the Dunkirk miracle, the British expeditionary force in Europe would have been wiped out. In the process of resisting German air strikes, the performance of British Hurricane fighter is better than that of German Junk fighter with the power of Rolls Royce engine.

Coupled with some tactical mistakes of the German Air Force, Britain won the British air battle. Although it can protect itself, the British army is far from its German counterparts in other battlefields, such as Greece and North Africa before 1942. It suffered heavy losses on various battlefields, and the decline of Britain after World War II was a foregone conclusion.

People's Network-After World War II, Britain became a second-rate country.