False rumor, prejudice, and blind spot 9: Start of a decline

 

＜　A world exposition in London　＞

Why did the country that took the world by storm fall into decay?

Even a country that had the initiative spirits at one time will fall into decay by inertia and self-conceit before long.

We can see it in Britain of the late 19th century.

Every day of a glory in around 1850~1870

Britain was ever the largest-ever empire that began the Industrial Revolution before the rest of the world.

GDP per capita, 32% of world industrial production share, and annual trade growth rate 25% were top in the world.

Britain made India that was second largest market and similar population in the world a colony.

In addition, there were Canada, Australia and others.

In 1851 of golden days, the world's first expo was held in London.

At this time, the exhibit that was in high repute was an "automatic harvest machine" made of American.

It was an ironical result.

世界を席巻した国が、如何にして衰退に陥ったのか？

かつては進取の気質に溢れた国もやがて惰性と慢心に犯され衰退します。

１９世紀後半の英国にそれを見ることが出来ます。

栄光の日々、１８５０～１８７０年頃

英国は先駆けて産業革命を成し遂げた史上最大の帝国でした。

一人当たりのGDP、世界の工業生産高のシェア３２％、年間貿易伸び率２５％はいずれも世界トップであった。

市場と人口が世界2位のインドやカナダ、オーストラリアを植民地にしていた。

絶頂期の１８５１年、ロンドンで世界初の万国博覧会が開催された。

この時、最も評判を取った出品物は米国の「自動刈り入れ機」と言う皮肉な結果であった。

Symptom of decline

Although West European countries also had entered the Industrial Revolution belatedly, Germanic Empire began a rapid growth especially.

The United States finished the Civil War, and then entered the western frontier period, and the population and the economy had grown rapidly.

凋落の兆候

西欧諸国も遅れて産業革命期に入っていたが、中でもドイツ帝国が急成長を始めた。

アメリカは南北戦争を終え、西部開拓時代に突入し、人口と経済は急伸していた。

＜　in 1869, opening of the Transcontinental Railroad in the U.S.　＞

Furthermore, Britain came to import a lot of cheap food by routes maintenance of the Suez Canal etc. that oneself were being advanced.

Britain had made the free trade a principle and did not take a protective policy to the imports.

Thereby, the British agriculture received the great blow and the landowners who occupied the majority moved many capitals from the farm management into the investment overseas.

Britain got overtaken.

When the 20th century began, British market share of the world industrial production came to reduce until the same as German share.

Moreover, it came to reduce until a half share of the United States.

さらに、英国は自ら進めていたスエズ運河等の航路整備によって、安価な食料を大量に輸入するようになった。

英国は自由貿易を信条にしており、輸入品に対して保護政策をとらなかった。

これにより英国農業は大打撃を受け、大半を占める地主階級は農業経営から海外投資に資金を移動させた。

追い抜かれた英国

２０世紀に入る頃には、ドイツは世界に占める工業生産高で英国と同じ、アメリカは英国の2倍に成長していた。

A cause of the decline

If an island country poor in resources, its economy is less than the U.S. where resources and population are huge in.

However, it is not the true cause.

Although a trade deficit continued by an excess of imports, Britain became a black figure by a profit of foreign investment.

This decreased domestic capital investing and caused productivity stagnation.

衰退の原因

資源に乏しい島国であれば、その国の経済は資源や国土、人口共に巨大な米国には及ばない。

しかしそれが真の原因ではない

英国は一次産品の輸入超過で大幅な貿易赤字が続いたが、海外投資の収益で黒字になっていた。

これは国内の資本投資を減少させ、生産性停滞を招いた。

True cause

At that time, people that resisted the latest introduction of industry or the technology were entrepreneurs in Britain.

It caused large technical retreat with organic chemistry, fiber, aluminum, and iron manufacture.

The university in Britain taught classical culture to gentry and did not science, and technical education.

Naturally, technician and worker education were most late among Europe.

Conclusion

The initiative spirits that brought the Industrial Revolution were ancestral thing, and descendants clung to the tradition and the status quo.

Such situation is in progress in modern Japan.

真の原因

当時、最新の産業や技術の導入に抵抗したのは英国の企業家だった。

有機化学、繊維、アルミニウム、製鉄等で大幅な技術後退を招いた。

大学はジェントリーに古典の教養を授ける所であり、科学・技術教育に意を払わなかった。当然、技能者や労働者教育はヨーロッパで最も遅れていた。

まとめ

産業革命を呼び込んだ進取の気質は祖先のものであり、その子孫達は伝統や現状維持にすがりついた。

このような状況は現代の日本でも進行中です。