HOPE IS EVERYWHERE (British Isles version: UNFINISHED WORK)
even in times of personal, social and economic depression
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Despite all the talk of doom and gloom, here are some meditations about the British Isles that might help you as you struggle to cope through difficult economic circumstances.
THE BEAUTY OF THE BRITISH ISLES IS ALREADY SHARED. DON'T LET IT BE RUN FROM LONDON!
It's amazing what can be achieved if we work together around a set of shared aims.
You are living in the British Isles on one of 130 or so islands: not just on the mainland, but scattered all around the coasts of Wales, Ireland, Scotland, England and beyond, to the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. Here is a list of them.
Amazingly, given the potential for collaboration between all of these islands, it has only been my own careful thinking about these matters that has led to the potential for a unified "islandist" front against globalisation.
The British Isles is not a region that "belongs" to the English or (more to the point) to Londoners. It is a natural geographical expression to describe something that was in existence long before England was even a sovereign country! There is nothing "anti-Irish" about the term at all, and indeed, if British Isles people can embrace their shared heritage, it would be better for everyone. As for London being the 'capital' of Britain, that is simply not true. Even in England, the capital has been Colchester previously, and there are other 'British Isles' capitals, such as Dublin, Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh. As more people come to find the South of England overcrowded, and as the BBC relocates part of its business to Salford in England, Manchester (near Salford) may find itself as a serious contender for British Capital.
ECONOMIC SUCCESSES
Although GDP has come under fire as a reliable indicator of wealth, the point is, it is still used by many people as if it IS reliable. This in turn creates a situation in which myth becomes reality in terms of the socio-economic decisions made by governments and businesses. Because these attitudes are influential, they in turn affect how confident or not individuals feel about the countries and regions they live in.
The British Isles is too small as a region to make much of a dent on the world's major economic superpowers, and isn't that much far in front of the European Union. But just look what happens when we combine the wealth of the British Isles into one federal union!
The British Isles combined - including the UK, Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands - has roughly a GDP per capita of $110800 (international dollars) when added together. Recent estimates of the wealth of the United States put it at $50,700: mediocre by comparison!
Although GDP is not always a reliable indicator of wealth, this is an astonishing figure! It shows that greater economic co-operation between our neighbours could give each member of the British Isles region serious economic and political power. Even when taking nominal GDP into account, the figures remain more-or-less the same
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