Pomp Without the Glory

In this week's Camino a Ítaca we travel to the British Iles to see what we can learn from recent events there. Click over to read the original Spanish version in el HOY or read the English translation below. (PDF abajo) 

The island nation that gifted the world things like trains, the internet, parliamentary democracy and David Attenborough has fallen on hard times. Like a once respected member of society who unfortunately gets hooked on heroin, it is now a mere shadow of its former self. Come to think of it, when was the last time anyone looked to the United Kingdom as some sort of example to follow?

The once proud empire’s slow decline into irrelevance had been going on for so long that no one really noticed that it was completely under water until it was far too late. The UK public spent so much time watching endless reruns of their victories in the great wars, that they forgot to acknowledge that it was in fact their bastard son that saved them from their German nemesis: twice. Like some sort of bankrupt aristocrat, it had been living and borrowing on a reputation that had long ago cashed its last good check. The country that gave the world Cheddar cheese and the Beatles, now flogs Coldplay and anodyne marmalade sandwiches.

This death foretold exponentially picked up speed when a group of selfish narcissists handed Germany the victory it once sought without even having to lift a finger, let alone firing a shot. This cabal of greedy Oxford-educated sociopaths somehow duped the nation into swallowing the blue pill of neoliberal fiction that saw them voluntarily leave the world’s largest trading block. A monumental blunder taken under the aegis it would somehow be good for the general public, rather than simply benefiting a small group of rich businessmen who were merely looking to get rid of inconvenient EU regulations.

What did the British public end up with? First, a cheap Trump impersonator who never learned how to use a comb. nor follow his own pandemic laws. An incorrigible shyster who reveled in repealing EU environmental regulations that allowed raw sewage to be dumped onto beaches around the country. Thus, making the metaphor literal, giving industry the right to shit on its citizens.

Then came his replacement, Truss the brief (en un tris Truss). A clueless fake whose first bold move was to reduce taxes on the rich to such an extent that even the market couldn’t accept the yawning hole this would leave in the country’s budget.

The result? The pound went into a free fall and the economy almost collapsed.

But if you look closer, perhaps this nearly failed state can offer us some insight. If there is something that you can learn from a bad example, it is what not to do.

The Trump imitators here in Spain offer the same snake oil. They may know how to comb their hair, but the siren song coming out of the Puerta del Sol of lowering taxes only serves to make the rich richer while helping to speed the looming death of the welfare state. Their proposed tax cuts would actually help them afford more private healthcare coverage, while at the same time making your wait for a simple operation longer and longer.

The British have offered valuable lessons before and they still can. We simply need to be discerning enough to learn from them.