Indubitably true. However, I have a suspicion that Britain takes it to another level compared to the nations you suggested. A contributory factor would be the matter of continuity in construction. WWII took more of a toll on French, German, Italian and Japanese historical buildings and infrastructure, for instance. A fresh start was required for much of each of those countries. And Napoleon's lamentable failure to invade and upgrade Britain meant it could not share in the benefits of a more modern restructuring of town planning, law reform and such - as enjoyed by France and Belgium for instance. The Spanish aren't afraid of a little restructuring - unfortunately, they weren't afraid of a whole shed-load of restructuring either, and over-did things somewhat. Nevertheless ... Britain is tiny when you consider a.) how many people live here and b.) how a small minority take up (and waste) vast tracts of land that would be better served shared amongst a wider populace. There simply isn't room to accommodate every brick shithouse that dates back to the 14th Century in addition to everything else that is really needed to keep a modern country up and running.
Good point. Virtually every other country in the world has either been invaded, conquered, colonised, liberated, had a revolution or civil war, become independent, or been the site of a war at some point in the past 300 years - and many countries have experienced several of those traumatic upheavals. Britain has enjoyed an unparalleled level of continuity, both in infrastructure and in institutions. So continuity has become our defining characteristic.
An invasion by a foreign power, preferably a current member of the EU. A small, non-ELE asteroid strike. Maybe a zombie apocalypse? If you're looking for a more serious-minded response, I would say a civil war is the most likely scenario amongst a group of very unlikely events. The only likely possibility, IMO, will be the breakdown of society as a result of over-population/climate change/loss of affordable power generation/mass starvation - time scale unknown. It's too late for Britain to benefit in the same way other nations have done from being on the losing end of a shooting war. There was a vitality to the populations of Napoleonic France, post-war Japan or Germany, that is almost entirely lacking in Britain today. We have missed our chance to start again from scratch.
It's been a hard day. And, the vast majority of people I've encountered this week have barely had the sense to exhale when breathing. I'm feeling jaded. Plus - I believe in what I'm saying
Cash is rapidly falling out of favour for many things, your options are move with the times or face an increasingly difficult existence, sadly it's the way of the world.
