Future Britain - Book review of 'This Little Britain'

Future Britain - Book review of 'This Little Britain' written by Harry Bingham, ISBN 978-0-00-7258482.

Britain is a small country that's done big things.

Harry Bingham has brought together many threads of activity which other countries have done, in Britain we seem to have done them earlier. It is that early start which caused the incredible impetus and caused the huge time advantage.

Britain created the Industrial Revolution and then the technology revolution:
- railways, paved roads, fast transport, canal system rivers and the sea (cheap transport), steam power
- electricity
- machines (starting from 'one watermill for every 50 households, in 1086!'), the cotton industry
- finest ships
- computers and the world wide web

At every turn we were first, we had the power, we created even more wealth and we looked after our poor.

The key features of our extraordinary development seem to be:

- early written language owned by the people, rather than the catholic church or the  court
- the creation of a wonderful and rich language specifically in the Book of Common Prayer, the King James Bible and the works of William Shakespeare, a language which, accidentally, is simple to learn (though not to spell!)
- laws that were applied evenly and honestly across the country
- contract law for owning property, which led to capitalism for everyone, from as early as 1200 (possibly earlier)
- the most sophisticated financial system anywhere
- better food, much more productive agriculture, earlier than anyone else
- huge population growth
- from the earliest times having to defend ourselves from invasion, as it was much more difficult to invade over land and easy by sea
- having a navy rather than an army, also led to independent thinking, it also needed concensus as the whole of society is involved
- the rule of law for countries to implement locally, supplemented by the Pax Brittanica
- consenting government rather than dictat - the monarch's lands and all assets were at stake if he broke the rules - a servant to the law
- our constitution is by far the oldest in the world, acts of parliament still use the medieval French used in the first act in 1275
- consultation between commoners and monarch in parliament actually worked very well
- printing and newspapers, the free press
- the best people rose to the top
- emigration to the rest of the world, with the prospect of low-cost land
- development of scientific method, then of scientific institutions, then personal competition and intellectual property rights

- so it's a shame about our manufacturing

I have picked the ideas which I think may be the most important, you will find many others. It is a highly readable, well-researched book, full of humour, and insight. Brilliant.