No More the World Role

I have never figured out why the Labour party is so enslaved to the Victorian concept of a “World Role” for our Island. Take this article by Ed Milliband FT Article Here.

You have ask:

Why?
Whats the point?
Does this make our countries safer, fairer or more worthwhile?
Do we need to be the worlds policeman?
Was it absolutely necessary to fight 5 wars in the last 13 years?

True, in the past we were the driving force for World Order. We controlled the Worlds economy and progress. But that was then.

Do we really want that now?

Or is this just another piece of control freakery from our Labour political elite?

According the noted historian, Simon Schama, during the 150 years the British Empire dominated the world, the whole of the empire always ran at a financial loss. Not one single year did the colonies and dominions ever produce a net profit. The flow of funds and resources was one way. Out of Britain.

In reality, the 19th /early 20th century British empire was funded and built by Welsh miners, English engineers and Scottish ship builders. In other words, by the the working class of these islands. Not by the mythical plundering of foreign lands and their populations.

The 19th century working class was really working and genuinely down-trodden. They were the true victims of empire. Their hard labour and wealth has been used, (and so often squandered) funding the development of far away lands. Places like Zimbabwe, Yemen, Uganda, Burma. A small sample of many countries now laid low by the corruption and greed of their rulers.

Milliband is wrong.

We can and should (if necessary) turn our backs on this futile grandstanding. In our current financial circumstances, we should certainly do no more than countries like Germany and France.

Particularly, we should not use our soldiers as a blood sacrifice to give Brown, Milliband and others a shabby meaning to their Global ambitions.

We need to close our doors. We must reduce the haemorrhage of money flowing from the country. We need to look inwards and solve our own desperate problems, rather than torturing ourselves with the problems of others.

In essence, we do need to put the people of this land first for a change.

1 comment:

Boganboy said...

I certainly agree with this one. A fine example is the taxes that for about 70 years have supported the on-going Israeli-Palestinian squabble.

Of course there are other wars throughout the globe that humanitarian aid keeps going. A favourite of mine is the fight to 'liberate' the Western Sahara. I don't care whether the Sahrawis' establish a state in the former Spanish Sahara or not, but I certainly don't feel my taxes should pay for the 'refugee camps' and other support that keeps the fight going.

This is why I sympathised with Trump when he cut aid to UNRWA. There was no chance of the Palestinians accepting his demands, but at least he saved the US taxpayers some money.

The UK is no longer a superpower. It's time this sentimental addiction to the idea of The White Man's Burden was scrapped. The UK should mind its own business and concentrate on taking care of its own interests.