Fairness is one of the most important values in modern Anglo culture and native speakers of English, including scholars, often assume that “fairness” is a universal human concept. This chapter shows that far from being universal, this concept is an artifact of modern Anglo culture.
Maybe - haven’t been able to work out where the desire for fairness comes from. I’d suggest that it’s less obvious in America where wealth is flaunted - but in the UK, I think that there’re a large number of us that believe that wealth is to be ashamed of. Perhaps there’s something in that idea.
‘crass ostentatiousness’ describing Trump and his ilk!
Good point but aren’t rich people in effect the royalty in America - I think they’re called ‘A listers’ … … and they’ll have more money than our royalty.
Many in the UK are very much against the monarchy - not sure there’s a similar anti-celeb culture in America?
So - a general attitude to wealth is what I’m getting at.
In countries where it’s admired, we see a tendency towards unfairness … …
If arguing against myself I’d say - well at least a celeb earned it … … but money makes money and into standard rentier capitalism/property portfolios they go … …
eg
This is my world!
A strong part of the reason I’m giving up imminently - healthcare’s just become a money making industry in which sick people are victims.
Some SFers might be more likely to agree with you if ‘British’ was replaced by ‘English’. History suggests that the Irish, Scots and Welsh haven’t been quite so active in that field.
I would view the actions were taken by British people, rather than solely English, but I’ve no need to be racist about the various nations of the British isles as some prefer to be.
Understand your argument, but I’ve researched and published a few pieces on this subject and chose my terms of reference on the basis that the ‘British’ colonial project was conceived and initiated and directed by English politicians at Westminster, albeit implemented by poor migrants from all over the British Isles, who’d lost their livelihoods through either the C18th/19th Enclosure Acts, the Highland Clearances or the Irish Famine. Many of these were unwitting pawns duped into the extension of military power and control .
So by an accident of geography - and by ignoring the Act of Union - we get to blame England again
It’s as French/American/anywhere they’re ignorant of the integration of the UK to conflate the UK with England as it is to say everything the UK did was actually done by English people.
And to treat the Celts as thickos, or “dupes”, if you prefer.
If you’d read my post more carefully, you might have realised that I didn’t refer to ‘the Celts’ at all. Furthermore, the Enclosure Acts that I did mention were primarily enacted in England. My post was about how colonists from all over the British Isles who had lost their livelihoods were duped by the Westminster government into migrating to what were effectively frontier war zones.
Nothing to do with intelligence - rather a mixture of poverty chicanery and perfidious Albion.
IIRC the highland clearances were much more driven by Scottish ‘nobility’ but I take your point about overall control being English, even if the people doing the deeds were from across the British isles.
Yes and no, inasmuch as these were a consequence firstly of the failure of the ‘45 Rebellion and secondly the subsequent English/ Lowland Scots army of occupation mapping of the Highlands (The Great Map’ of the Surveyor General, William Roy - also the origin of OS maps).
British Library’s Map Library staff examining a manuscript map of Scotland drawn by Paul Sandby, from William Roy’s military survey of Scotland, 1747.
Once the Highlands were mapped and controlled, the lairds and the Lords of the Isles lost their independence and traditional reliance on brigandry, and effectively acquiesced, suffering a massive decline in income. Eventually, over about a hundred years this was remedied by evicting their clansmen crofters and replacing them with sheep, deer and pine trees.
It’s also fair to say that in many respects these people and most members of the Irish aristocracy had more in common with their English counterparts than with their own people
So - have been trying to work out why I think that ‘fairness’ is important to the English.
Here’s a part of the answer.
An oppressed group often grows to be defined by fighting off oppressor.
Great example here - the black community in America and the oppression of Slavery.
They’ve grown sensitized to it by years of abuse and this expresses itself in being particularly vocal about racism.
The UK notably unlike France retains its monarchy.
The extended monarchy runs into politics and the public school system.
Maybe it’s because of this oppression of the masses over many years that the desire for fairness has become a defining character of the English.
So - a reaction to the monarchy - and of course this idea makes @TFJWM 's comment particularly meaningful.
Prince Harry (monarchy) + Megan Markle (celebrity)
