I am surprised by how the queens death has arisen so few reactions. This is a new era for England and the empire. The queen has been the corner stone of the imperial psyche for 70 years, the longest reign in history, like an undestructable monument, which infused an oceanic feeling of invulnerability, greatness and eternity. The hole left in the country's collective unconciousness will by no means be filled. And the contrast with the shrinking, miserable new era which looms behind the horizon will be so dramatic that we could easily see the coming of a republic in england
I don't feel any strong republican sentiment in Britain except in the minority region of Scotland. However apathy for 'Queen/King and Empire' is something else. My generation were brought up on a certain patriotic tradition, even if just as a backdrop. If fuel/food insecurity is allowed to fester the reluctant British will become restless. The British establishment has always had a canny knack of placating unrest (it was Marx who felt that the UK would be the first communist country). Trades Unionism and the Labour movement in general, with all the benefits it brought to the workers of Britain prevented that revolution. However, this was because the establishment could afford to be lenient and furnish the country with a modest share of wealth for the plebs as demanded because of the huge plunder from the Empire, a small price to pay for their continuity of power. But the 40 years of Neo-liberal policies that have plagued the British economy may now have run its course. Does the British establishment have the savvy to apply the same brakes as their predecessors? The wrecking of Europe and the west's economies on the rocks of Ukraine may indicate otherwise.
I am surprised by how the queens death has arisen so few reactions. This is a new era for England and the empire. The queen has been the corner stone of the imperial psyche for 70 years, the longest reign in history, like an undestructable monument, which infused an oceanic feeling of invulnerability, greatness and eternity. The hole left in the country's collective unconciousness will by no means be filled. And the contrast with the shrinking, miserable new era which looms behind the horizon will be so dramatic that we could easily see the coming of a republic in england
I don't feel any strong republican sentiment in Britain except in the minority region of Scotland. However apathy for 'Queen/King and Empire' is something else. My generation were brought up on a certain patriotic tradition, even if just as a backdrop. If fuel/food insecurity is allowed to fester the reluctant British will become restless. The British establishment has always had a canny knack of placating unrest (it was Marx who felt that the UK would be the first communist country). Trades Unionism and the Labour movement in general, with all the benefits it brought to the workers of Britain prevented that revolution. However, this was because the establishment could afford to be lenient and furnish the country with a modest share of wealth for the plebs as demanded because of the huge plunder from the Empire, a small price to pay for their continuity of power. But the 40 years of Neo-liberal policies that have plagued the British economy may now have run its course. Does the British establishment have the savvy to apply the same brakes as their predecessors? The wrecking of Europe and the west's economies on the rocks of Ukraine may indicate otherwise.