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pyrrhus's avatar

Well done! I would add that Free Trade started this whole mess by destroying the profitability of British agriculture, thereby wrecking Britain's previously stable rural society, where country prelates had sufficient time and income to make important scientific discoveries, and greatly weakening both Lords and the middle class that depended on them...

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The American Tribune's avatar

Oh yes, the Agricultural Depression is another big thing

I think the parliament bill is a cleaner spiritual break, but what you mentioned is the other big thing

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Rocío Matamoros's avatar

Our host has written well on the repeal of the Corn Laws in previous articles, such as "The Death of the Gentleman and the Birth of Bureaucratic Tyranny" (Jul 10, 2024) - I think you'll probably find it interesting to compare notes.

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Faustian Crusader's avatar

Another fantastic article

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The American Tribune's avatar

Thank you very much!

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R Smith's avatar

Great article, thanks.

Yes, please do turn your X discussion into an article, I’d be most interested.

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The American Tribune's avatar

Thank you! Will do

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Rocío Matamoros's avatar

I second that. I have an X/Twitter account in theory, but I've never written anything there, since I don't want to get sucked into the vortex. Currently, my X account isn't even working, so I can't see what you've written there (I only see the painting at the head of the discussion, and an introductory sentence).

If it's largely a matter of copy&pasting material from X to Substack, then it should cost you much less time, while keeping your substack readers happy (if any of your X readers come here, they'll surely cut you some slack for a week). Thanks.

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The American Tribune's avatar

Thanks! I’ll get it up soon

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David's avatar

My sense from (briefly) studying British history was that 1914 was the spiritual turning point. It is interesting to see your very erudite article make the same argument.

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The American Tribune's avatar

Thank you! AJP Taylor puts it at 1916, after the failed offensive. Somewhere around then seems like the point at which their spirit really broke, with the four or five years leading up to then being utterly disastrous

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Mitch's avatar

An excellent read, but if one had to boil the whole story down to its essence - Socialism made Britain a hellhole. There isn't one factor described - financial, political, moral, societal- that isn't predictable from the rise of socialism.

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The American Tribune's avatar

That is close, but I think it is the envy at the root of it rather than the socialism itself. It could have recovered from terrible policies. It couldn’t and hasn’t recovered from the attitude of envy and class warfare that was unleashed in the early 1900s

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Evola's Sunglasses's avatar

Never recovered from WW2

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