From our UK correspondent Shaun Hollick, who muses on growing up in the aftermath of WW2 and lessons learnt
The legacy of WW2 was my school friends initially. German, Polish, Yugoslavian, and Hungarians fled the USSR as it was Europe’s deathbed.
Growing up we could tell that our future would be greatly different to that of our parents.
During the war, countries such as the US and Russia stripped technology from the UK and Germany. For example, the US got hold of RAF and Luftwaffe technology.
In a broad sense to this day it could be said that we are indebted colonies to these major global forces. By the indebtedness of the smaller nations I mean loans/policies imposed by the International momentary fund (USA) or direct control by Russia.
UK industry at home was run by the aristocrats. Badly in my view. It seems with taking all our expertise to America.
The UK struggled globally to export it’s technology, goods and professional expertise. Unfortunately, in my view its trade was fuelled by corruption and ineptitude.
In the past decades we have seen UK industry deteriorate. After the war, the Empire came home to the flattened rubble of bombed industrial Derby. Rebuilt in the 1960s, it’s now rubble again courtesy of corruption.
The wartime generation is now largely dead. And it seems to me that very little has been learnt. Power and the corruption that comes with it continue to erode many facets of society, hampering growth.
It seems to me that the smaller nations have been sidelined in the interests of the larger countries – for resources such as energy, minerals, capital, technology and so on.
Perhaps technology and robots will have the last laugh. And the loudest. Technology is reaching such a point that it can play a destructive role even for the present giant nations.
