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The scary thing about 21st century Britain is the extent to which they now wallow in the never-happened fantasy of the Harry Potter universe to compensate for it. That has changed absolutely everything, not all bad to be sure.

As an American, I categorically refuse to believe Britain is anything but Harry Potter without magic.

Of course that is true but it undeniably helps. I wonder if postwar Britain watching its hegemony decline will be anything like the current decline of the US.

Yeah, like I don't think Norway or Switzerland have ever been empires, much less superpowers.

But they provide a very good standard of living for their citizens.

Norway's economy is heavily reliant on oil and gas. What of countries that don't have such abundant natural resources?

And "small but prosperous" is exactly what Singapore does well. The UK could learn a lot from Singapore.