Imagine it’s 100 years in the future

[Lorelielee]

you are studying history and UK history is the topic. So wiz through medieval, dark ages, Tudor, reformation, civil war, enlightenment, empire etc

with the benefit of reflection and critical thinking, how do you think historians will write about this era I suppose the last 40 years. Will it be defined as the pathetic final last gasp of a British empire? By that I mean break up of the commonwealth and any power we have internationally and rhetoric about it. Will we be a small lonely country? Will this be a blip and things will be better then? Or are we on a slow decline that can’t be stopped. Will historians be able to pull any positives from this time period. Who will stand out as the villains? What will be our defining historical moments culturally, politically etc?

I guess what I’m asking is what do you think our legacy will be?

The modern Elizabethans - an era of stability and growth
The pandemic
The EU experiment, why Britain joined, and then left

Sociologists will study the explosion in social media, cancel culture, and the great trans experiment.

I hope there are people still living on Earth and we haven’t destroyed the planet like in Wall-E

‘When the last tree has been cut down, the last fish caught, the last river poisoned, only then will we realize that one cannot eat money.’

It all depends on what happens between now and 100 years time. If the EU breaks up then the context for writing about Brexit would be entirely different to if the EU goes on to become a significant if second tier “power block”. I also think it’s increasingly difficult to look at countries in isolation due to globalisation and cultural/ political “cross contamination”. What is happening in the UK is part of a wider shift of economic and political power to Asia. There’s a wider crisis of democracy- the number of democracies in the world peaked in the early 2000’s and has declined ever since.

In the next 70 years the old age dependency ratio is expected to almost double. At the moment 100 working age people carry 30 old age dependents. By 2100, that figure is predicted to change to 57.

How we intend to absorb and adapt that kind of unprecedented (sorry) demographic change will undoubtedly cause huge political and social instability. Basically, I think we'll be looking back at our storm in a tea cup days.

The rise of the computer
The effects of 9/11 attacks leading to wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Islamic State etc
Covid
Environmental damage
Fall of Christianity
LGBT+ Rights and Issues
Racism

I've read social and political history books already about most of the things mentioned (pandemic ones coming thick and fast)

One which I hope will be looked upon as the utter insanity it is, is gender.

Things that will be looked back on with insanity, sex changes, gender, nuclear power, landfill and destroying each other with war and corruption.

Although I do believe they will eventually go back into landfill sites and look for metals, and plastics that can be reprocessed.

The UK will definitely have rejoined by then. Breturn or Brenew.
Breunite sounds great too.

What an interesting question. I am going to have a think and contribute later but great idea for a thread.

Although I do believe they will eventually go back into landfill sites and look for metals, and plastics that can be reprocessed.

There is a company already looking into mining metals from landfill sites, it was on a documentary a couple of years ago on the BBC. They were doing test digs iirc.

There are relatively few periods in history where we look back in astonishment. It’s human nature to think you are the centre of things, and by extension of that I think it’s natural for us to feel we are at a great turning point, or a great catalyst. It will be just another period in history, routinely confused by school kids with the 100 years before and the 50 years after.

I think brexit will be viewed with total incredulity.
And the John's we have down to the environment with total horror

I think Brexit will be viewed as an irrelevance. As will most things relating to Europe.

It’s going to be the decline of the US and the global rise of China that will be in the history books IMO

Hmm my ghost shall be sitting in the back of classrooms howling with laughter as they cover this period of History ( excepting covid of course) 😁.

I think the lack of regulation around the internet and AI will be considered as real Wild West territory.

The destruction of the environment will be viewed with anger and sadness.

Yep, pretty much.

The tennis m revolution when I really hope then leads onto the green revolution

Doh! Technical revolution!!!

The terrible impact of global warming and climate change... if there is anyone left alive - we are at the tipping point of earth becoming uninhabitable to humans.

What utter nonsense.

You are way off the mark with some of your ideas OP. I wonder if your OP is human at all - is it a ChatGbt effort?

The decolonisation of the British Empire was largely effected 1945-1948. The Commonwealth is not nor ever was an Empire. The Labour Government of Bevin wanted to perpetuate the Empire, but that was no longer possible given the destruction wrought by various powers during WW2. The last 40 years have nothing to do with an Empire and I don’t know of anyone who thinks that way, other than those who read certain tabloids.

With regard to being a small lonely place, you seem to neglect globalisation over the last 40 years of which the U.K. had a dominant place - roughly around 5th or 6th place which means we have done well in the competitive environment that globalisation brings. Hardly small and lonely.

With regard to the disaster that was Brexit, in the context of what will follow - the shifting of power within the EU to former eastern bloc countries - the U.K. will be seen as an unfortunate catalyst for change. We will rejoin, but Brexit and Breunite will not define us at all.

The defining aspects of the last 40 years will be the power of globalisation, the advent of the internet, the era of cheap money and capital allocation which is the one thing Britain has done very well in that period, compared to most other nations.

The last 40 years will probably be seen as a mini golden age for European countries and others of the G7, with the exception of the USA which is a colossus. Nothing mini there. This is in the context of the pressures on democracy wrought by totalitarian regimes such as China, much of the Middle East and Russia. The last 40 years has been an era of growth, low inflation, globalisation and having what you want when you want it.

All the above is far from the picture you paint which I don’t recognise.

Great point and in many ways true.

I do think though, that the rise on online, globalisation and social media is a true paradigm shift.

British History for this period will focus on how we allowed a corrupt government walk us into Brexit for the gains of a few rich people.
How the elite and powerful controlled the media, and let us ignore them as the oil companies burnt the world. How plastics were encouraged despite viable alternatives.
How naive we all are about sharing our information online and how it allowed us to be monitored.

China have a built in 'app' to take fines of you electronically and immediately if you jay walk, litter ect.

It's linked to their version of meta (I think) so it's not really optional to get rid of it.

Imagine trying to delete all social media and pay pal, Amazon etc that is all linked.

So high resolution surveillance cameras and they use your phone signal to link you to the image and issue a fine.

I read this in an article, I believe to be true but happy to be proved wrong, I might have explained it wrong also

I think historians will look at the shift in home living arrangements and income to disposable income.

Like the tv show that went through each decade with a family and their diet and spends etc

We have more 'essential' costs than previous generations

Phone
Broadband
Transport

All much more essential to live a comparatively average life

Also the increase in low nutrition content food and the increase in obesity

The invention of internet based crimes and use of media in court rooms

The electric movement and it's carbon footprint