If Poland had had a giant moat surrounding it, they may have very well done better. Granted that Britain is a wonderful place and one I could live in if I had to, that particular reason is not amongst the best offered.
Well, one of the big reasons the US economy has been so strong in the 20th century is that it’s the only one immune to being disrupted by invasion. That wasn’t the case for Britain - that giant moat didn’t prevent London, Birmingham, Exeter and Bristol from being firebombed to cinders during WWII.
If my SO and I were launched into space this afternoon and told to pick a place to land we have agreed that we would want to be dropped in Ireland. They come in 5th in the top places to live worldwide and the people have the most incredible accents ever. They have lush, green landscapes and a fascinating national history that make us think that would be a great place for us to end up if we ever decided to leave the USA.
Did you miss the part about how Ireland doesn’t do so well by women? And the 20% emigration rate?
Dunno… they are very socially conservative (abortion is still illegal), there’s a lot of poverty (they are propped by EU cash), the fascinating national history is pretty blood-soaked.
Don’t get me wrong, Ireland has many things in its favour, but as a place to live once you get away from Dublin it’s not all it’s craic’ed up to be.
Been claimed, but Canada I’d go for. America light, much more tolerant and liberal, and, the best part is, no one suspects us! (Plus, we remain the only nation to successfully invade the US and burn down the White House!)
I am a Canadian, so keep that in mind.
They are a net beneficiary of the EU, but not by much. See here. It would certainly be inaccurate to say they’re “propped up” by EU cash.
I suspect the data on which you base this claim is rather out of date.
From the late 1700’s Britain controlled all the oceans. After defeating France for the last time in 1815 Britain had the most money and power because of its monopoly on world trade. After Napolean’s defeat England could have seized just about every European colony in the world and large tracts of Europe itself. With no other distractions it could have come back to the US and completely kicked its ass into colony status again.
But no, it gave the colonies it had already captured back, it restored France to it pre-revolution size and it enjoyed its profitable trade with the US and the rest of the world. Britain had realized that lasting peace is achieved through stability - not pissed off countries under occupation (‘primitive civilizations’ excepted of course). Britain was number 1 and kept the world mostly under peace for 100 years. It truly was the greatest but fighting 2 World Wars by itself (with late American help) kind of broke it’s back. So Britain is a bit of a has-been.
The US is powerful, but Canada is literally on top. Canada can enjoy huge geographical advantages (oil anyone?) while letting their ally the US pay to play GI-Joe around the world.
I think it has to be Italy, so long as you choose one of the warmer, sunnier parts and more rural areas.
Entitled (with Greece) to call itself the cradle of civilisation. Source of one of the greatest empires the world has ever known, and one whose legacy we can still see signs of today. A massive contribution to the development of modern thought and science, not to mention art, music, literature, technology and social progress. A people who take their hedonism seriously, and who value good food, good wine and good times. Still the most beautiful language in the world based on the remarkably ingenious idea of ending everything in a vowel. A good gene pool, producing more than its fair share of beautiful people. Better than average preservation of artistic and historical heritage. The money used to be stupid, but then they went Euro so it actually makes sense again. A thriving, modern, sophisticated society with all mod cons and no lack of infrastructure. Plenty of variety - it’s really like a dozen nations in one.
Yep, a few problems remain. I’m no fan of the Catholic Church, their politics are a joke and they have corruption issues that they should have done more to deal with. Plus they took a couple of wrong turns in the 20th century (fascism, choosing the wrong side in the second big scrap and so on). But still, all in all, I’d say it’s a strong contender.
I have no problem with a blood soaked national history. I can’t think of any country that doesn’t have a good amount of blood shed in their past except maybe Switzerland and we all know what Orson Welles said about that! 
As far as poverty goes that sounds about like the US, actually. I am in NYC so most of the people I interact with on a daily basis are pretty affluent but I’ve been to a few of the more rural sections of the country (including living in a very rural area of Texas for 2 years) and there is very little money to go around in those places. Besides, we are city people and if we did end up in Ireland Dublin is where we would go. No matter what country you look at it is going to have problems somewhere but all in all I think Ireland would be the top of my list.
The US WAS powerful - I think there are a lot of people in this thread living in the past. The US is BROKE - that’s not so great.
For the record, Canada has lost more soldiers per capita in Afghanistan(where the actual war on terror is being fought) than the U.S. You say, “Play GI-Joe around the world,” the rest of the world says, “Maybe you wouldn’t need to send your soldiers all over the world if you’d just mind your own business.”
The US is a declining superpower, sure (mostly in relative terms since there are finally other superpowers emerging). But it is still a superpower – America’s GDP is still about double the size of the BRIC countries collectively, for example. To talk about the US being powerful in the past tense is clearly wrong.
Economically, militarily, culturally - everyone else better get used to second place, because it ain’t changing any time soon.
Nobel Prizes? - we lead the world, baby.
Economy?
Manufacturing?
Finance?
All the highest grossing movies in the world are American-made. The US is the largest producer of agricultural products in human history. We have the most powerful military on earth.
We can run faster, swim farther, dive deeper, stay down longer, and come up drier than anyone else on earth.
Regards,
Shodan
Of course Canada, Britain and many other countries have lost a lot of people to battle in Afghanistan and Iraq, but every knows every other country who participates is really just there for a show of solidarity with the US. If the US held a war and nobody came, it’s feelings might be hurt. If you want to have a cordial relationship with a country you’ve got to throw it a bone once in awhile.
So it sucks that a lot of Canadians have died, but that hardly makes Canada a country even capable of carrying out an Afghanistan occupation by itself. The US was there from the beginning with the expensive stuff - aircraft carriers, stealth bombers, aircraft in large numbers, effective spies/agent network and money to supply to the resistance. Boots on the ground are important but it is hardly like Canada is pulling off the Afghanistan occupation on its own.
You also win the World Series most years and are number 1 for both obesity and prison population.
America. Fuck yeah.
It’s from pbbth’s own link.
Sorry Chowder. I have to disagree. You have just infuriated the Welsh, Scots and Northern Irish (some of them, anyway) when you refer to Britain as a nation. Being British is the determinative of being part of a political unity, not a nationality. An intractable problem. Perhaps the safest term is UK-ites?
As to Land of Hope and Glory, it was a fine anthem composed by Elgar for the coronation of Edward VII, and he was not pleased when the patriotic (some might say jingoistic) words were attached to it. It was popularised by Dame Clara Butt - the name seems appropriate for one who sounded like a basso profondo. Unfortunately Elgar’s Coronation Ode was never used at a coronation, and the certainties of those days have sadly faded, two world wars, and the loss of an empire that was costing more than it was worth have made Britain a more cynical place. But England (not Scotland, Wales or Ireland) has given us Shakespeare and Cranmer whose words make music in the ear - more than enough to make Englishness, and the nationality that bears it along, a thing to cherish.
[emphasis mine]
That is your opinion but there may be good reason to think it wrong. As things stand in mainstream media, the American Edifice is much as you describe, a powerhouse of creativity and production.
We only have the most powerful military because there is no draft. What government could stay in office AND stay in Afghanistan and Iraq without paying tribute to Haliburton, Blackwater, et al? How long can the economy bear the price while those who print our money steal it from social needs and infrastructure? Not as long as you would like to think, I think.
Greatest is a subjective term, so there is no right and wrong answer. I’m not talking about which nation is greatest in 2009 (I have no idea what that would be, but maybe Denmark, I really don’t know). My statement of greatest meant greatest in recorded human history, not greatest in current events.
However when it comes to the things I value the most (science, medicine, technology, democracy, human rights, the enlightenment, etc. I am a fanatical secular humanist) Britain seems to have had the biggest influence in creating a world where we respect these things. Like I said, roughly 1/3 of all people in OECD nations live in nations influenced heavily by Britain.
Plus, like I said, w/o the role Britain played in the genesis of the agricultural and industrial revolutions the world we know wouldn’t exist. The world of 2009 is nothing like 1709, but 1709 wasn’t much different from 1409, which wasn’t much different from 1109. The rapid growth in standards of livings, STEM advances, political rights, civil rights, human rights, etc all can be tied back to (more or less) the agricultural revolution, industrial revolution, scientific revolution and age of enlightenment. The nation of Britain and citizens of Britain either started these things or had a big role in them.