The Anglo-Futurist Manifesto:

A new political orthodoxy can be seen on the horizon, now but a speck, in what seems like no time at all, shall loom large, until the whispering becomes a roar, the impossible, possible; the unthinkable, inevitable. Anglo-Futurism. The possibility of a brighter future for this sceptered isle. Is the only way forward.

Western nations are in crisis. The faltering economics of the post Bretton-Woods orthodoxy, is incubating political radicalism from London to Washington, and Berlin to Rome. However the United Kingdom finds itself in particularly bad shape. Many in this country are completely unaware of the depths of poverty to which the average Briton is plunging when compared to our European or American counterparts. We are content to live within our bubble, too tame or naive to demand better. Those that are not content are branded radical extremists of either the far left or right.

The populism of the last few years is a reaction to this failure. The unutterable B-word, the grotesque elephant in the room; the jeering in the commons, masking the deafening impotence the British state; and the flopping blond wisps of Johnson's hair, are the tumbleweed blowing across the littered streets of a nation diminished.

What follows is a manifesto for a rejuvenation of this nation; one based, not on an obsession with rebuilding an unobtainable past, which when not viewed through tinted spectacles was not all as rosy as it was said to be; but a manifesto for the rejuvenation of this nation based on an acceptance of the world as it is now and could be in the future. With all the technological power that affords our new British state.

More than Aesthetic:

While social media has done its’ share of spreading Anglo-Futurist propaganda, what is needed is a more in depth view of the movement. The images circulating see Anglo-Futurism as electric high speed railways darting across these green and pleasant lands on vast viaducts. Terminating in the walkable streets of densely built towns. Georgian townhouses and Victorian apartments, an antidote to crass modernism; Art-Deco sky-scrapers towering in the distance, the monolithic totems of some imagined metropolis, which booms and roars with the sound of money. Bustling ports load and unload bulkers alongside airships. With railfreight which whisks the bounty of trade inland to a wealthy and secure populace.

This all seems nice, and I can see the Brits among you glazing over, but our future cannot be built with AI image generators alone. Only a Long term, radical and achievable plan can give us this future. Navel-gazing is the exact method by which we have arrived at our current situation. The future of this country lies, as does the future of all countries: In the hands of technology thoughtfully applied.

From a more pessimistic perspective it is rather depressing that Anglo-Futurism in the eyes of many consists mostly of having enough houses and decent public transport. Although in many ways this will seem harsh on Britain. This is on purpose: Many of the problems we are currently facing are problems that other nations, even ones theoretically much poorer than our own, have solved. This gives the anglo-futurist immense optimism.

Beyond Narrow Nationalism:

Any movement with care for the nation can be described as nationalist. In that sense Anglo-Futurism is no different. The narrow nationalists see anglo-futurism as nothing more than the rebuilding of the Britain of the past: Dominant on the world stage, the wealthiest people in the world; a rebuilding of the British empire. Some idealised white Britain. Those that campaign in this vain should be rebuffed at every opportunity.

For not only are they disgusting racists, but they entirely fail to understand that the Britain of the past could not be rebuilt today:

The nature of national wealth is purely to do with technology and its deployment. The Britain of the past was so wealthy because it had the best technology in the world, and that it was deployed widely across the country. Which allowed it to become the “workshop of the world”. The United States had glorious post-war decades because the productive capital of the European nations had been destroyed leaving the United States as the only industrialised nation to provide the goods needed to the rest of the world. Americans that fetishise the 50s and wish to return the United States to that former glory are just as foolish. Those that think by keeping the United States white or by making everyone go to church on a sunday, the wealth will return; are a cargo cult. Choosing to pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

Excessive exports such as the United States and United Kingdom had in the 1950s and 1850s & 70s respectively, could not be rebuilt today, the deployment of such new technology as and above the productive capacity of nations such as China is nothing more than fantasy. Besides, the desire to rebuild such a world is a mistake, because the dependence on foreign demand to support employment is actually sub-optimal. Financial crises across the world that you have no control over can drastically harm demand.

The instantaneous transfer of information means that technical differentials which made past superpowers possible are unlikely to be able to exist today. The differences in productivity per capita should decrease over time.

Those that would remove foreigners are and should be entirely unwelcome within the Anglo-Futurist movement. Not only will it not save this nation; but the transgression of rights that would need to be made in order for it to be done would be deeply unsavoury and, dare I say, actually un-british. Those that would remove others based on their race or religion ought to be removed themselves, to a nation without the rights that we take for granted. We would soon see what they thought of freedom of religion.

Narrow nationalism has a tendency to seek the past over the future. This must be repelled by any Anglo-Futurist. Not only can the past not be rebuilt, but it was not nearly as good as we think it was.

The Crisis of the British State:

While all nations face their challenges, the west is feeling the strain more severely, and the United Kingdom arguably the most. Although GDP moves higher, contrary to the predictions of various economists (particularly the IMF) there is a distinct unease at the heart of Britain. The health service is on its knees, getting a doctors appointment is nigh on impossible and dentists are rarer than days without political scandal. Infrastructure crumbles like the ashes of a dying empire, with next to nothing new being built. Grey haired nimbys secure in their homes go to extraordinary lengths to see nothing but green from their windows. Petty crime rife in our towns and cities, prisons so full that rapists run free. Police barely present, except if a protest needs stopping.

The problem is the near failure of our state to provide the most basic and fundamental services that a state must provide. Security. Not only from crime but from external catastrophes too. Recent reports detail that the British military is woefully unprepared and underfunded. Not to mention the unreadiness of the state for Covid-19 and of course the climate crisis.

This failure of the state is not only disappointing from the perspective of normal residents, but internationally too. The faltering United Kingdom, once the crossroads between Europe and America, between developed nations and rising powers, rendered a shell of its former self and unable to fulfil that role. For how long will people put up with a failing state? When people can take their productivity and capital anywhere, they do not have to entertain a state that cannot serve them.

The Climate and Protection:

The climate crisis is getting worse, in the view of some we have already passed the point of no return. I find that view unnecessarily negative, but perhaps I am deluding myself. In any case, net zero and the protection of nature is of paramount importance. Even if we have passed the point of no return, there is still significant work to be done. We must, if it is indeed too late to make 2C, protect ourselves from the consequences: Become self-sufficient in food with the help of GMOs and Laboratory grown meat etc. Energy independence with small modular reactors and renewables. Protect our island from rising tides.

In any case the might of the state must be competently deployed. Relying on "the market" will not save us now, for the simplest reason that the market will ignore the needs of the planet. The United Kingdom simply does not currently have the manufacturing capacity to solve this crisis for itself. Foreign markets will not save us either: however awful it may seem, once the climate truly becomes unavoidable it will be every man for himself. More specifically, the bonds of international cooperation will collapse. Global supply chains of critical goods will likely be strained significantly.

Ideally the world would operate under free trade, however it must be considered that as the climate crisis worsens, all nations will likely turn to their own self interest. Particularly in terms of food and energy.

Europe: an Irrelevance:

Many progressives view the failing British state as a symptom of Brexit. They see the United Kingdom of 2012, the “cool Britannia” as a peak, a nation at ease with itself, wealthy and proud. This in my view is a colossal failure of analysis: In reality it is the reverse, in that Brexit was caused by the abject failure of governance. “Cool Britannia” was nothing more than a desperate grasp at straws to defend the idea of a nation that since the 2008 crisis, had very little to go on. A cry for relevance in a world dominated by the United States and increasingl