Selfishness. In the UK we've dabbled with socialism and free market capitalism and now we have the worst of both. Let me explain.
During our experiments with socialism under Labour Governments after the second world war, we created a system where we are 'all in it together' and help look after each other. Unfortunately this system made people overly reliant on Government and the labour 'Trade Unions' become too powerful and selfish without thinking about the consequences their actions were having on the UK economy globally. You have to remember this was a time when the West German and Japanese economies where taking off and leaving us in the dust. However at least the Union members numbered in the millions so the country was quite democratic and there was a sense of helping out your fellow man and the country became socially more liberal and tolerant as a result.
Next came our experiment with Thatcherite capitalism. Thatcher's Government wanted to eliminate all traces of Socialism and sell off most state owned assets to private companies as quickly as possible at low prices. The other idea was to create a system of meritocracy which rewarded hard work and individual pursuit of happiness even if it meant at the expense of others. The unfortunate reality was sleaze and cronyism reared it's ugly head with brown paper envelopes deals and the minority rich became richer while everyone elses wage stagnated in real terms. People became at lot more selfish. Thatcher famously declared 'Society does not exist'. Now thanks to this principle we have an army of what we call' Chavs'. i.e young people who think its' cool to be a complete prick towards others and not contribute to society at all. They are a by product of British manufacturing industries being forced to close down and with next to no Government support to help the affected communities to find new work even though it's all they've known for centuries.
Fast forward today and a decade of Blarite Governement has created a new breed to people. The worst of Labour Socialism and the worst of Thatcherite Capitalism. People who only think about themselves and how they can fleece the State for more money. So you have the free market 'greed' mentality of looking after number one (a term we use here for only looking out for yourself and immediate family) coupled with the socialist 'handouts' they come to expect. And that is what we have a lot of here.
I work in a British manufacturing plant and our main competitors are German and I tell you want, without wanting to sound disrespectful to some my colleagues, it really is a case of 9am-5pm arrive on the dot and leave on the dot leaving work unfinished, always thinking about themselves, not worried if we have to lay off staff due to lack of business, constantly joking about rather than separate work from personal when at work. I really think we need to change our mentality in this country if we are to compete with the emerging economies and go back to making things rather than making money out of money (which as it seems has just turned out to be one big ponzi scheme).
