Problems of our past

My recent travels, and the events that have dominated the news media over the past decade, have been a constant reminder of the contining legacy of empire. As I've noted before, most of the world's most difficult problems are a direct result of the way Europe'a empires were wound up. Look at Zimbabwe, Israel/Palestine, Kashmir - all the legacy of the end of empire.

A few years ago I had lunch with a proper old buffer who genuinely appeared to believe that the world's problems would be resolved if the clock was turned back three quarters of a century. There was all kinds of problems with his arguments - you had to share his hopelesly romantic view of thevage of empire, you had to accept that administering an empire was a realistic prospect for western European countries that, at times, appear to struggle hyo administer themselves and you had to forget that these same empires were, at best, very mixed blessings. When I pushed back he told me that I couldn't blame all the world's problems on empire, others were at fault too.

To be honest, I think he had the modern world in mind. He was that kind of man- the type who will always believe 50 years ago was better. But on reflection I think he had a point, even if it wasn't exactly what he had in mind.

To be continued....