Here we are again, staring into the abyss of British decline and pretending it is merely a seasonal adjustment. The news that a young Briton has applied for 400 roles without success is not an anecdote; it is a parable of our times. We live in an era where the economic certainties of the post-war settlement have evaporated, replaced by a gig-economy dystopia where a degree is a ticket to an endless queue.
The culprit is not merely Brexit, though leaving the European Union certainly accelerated the rot. No, the deeper malaise is a cultural decay that has abandoned the virtues of thrift, industry, and national pride. We have become a nation of shopkeepers who have forgotten how to sell.
The young are not lazy; they are crushed by a system that prizes credentialism over craftsmanship, and globalisation over community. The 400 rejections are a mirror reflecting a society that has lost its nerve. We must rediscover the spirit that built an empire, not wallow in self-pity.
Or we shall become a footnote in history, a cautionary tale of decadence and decline.
