Two Hundred Years of Muddling Through
The Surprising Story of Britain's Economy from Boom to Bust and Back Again
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Two Hundred Years of Muddling Through
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Narrated by:
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Duncan Weldon
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By:
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Duncan Weldon
About this listen
The UK is, at the same time, both one of the world's most successful economies and one of Europe's laggards. The country contains some of Western Europe's richest areas such as the South East of England, but also some of its poorest such as the North East or Wales. It's really not much of an exaggeration to describe the UK, in economic terms, as 'Portugal but with Singapore in the bottom corner'. Looking into the past helps understand why.
Two Hundred Years of Muddling Through tells the story of how Britain's economy and politics have interacted with each other from the time of the Industrial Revolution right up to the pandemic of 2020. A few politicians, such as Peel, Gladstone, Attlee and Thatcher, have managed to shape the economy, but far more have been shaped by it. Depressing little in British economic debate is really new. This time is rarely, if ever, really different. The debates about the balance between economic openness and sovereignty that re-emerged after Brexit would have been familiar to Peel and Cobden in the 1840s. The size of the government's deficit has dominated politics since 2010, but fretting about the scale of the national debt was almost a national pastime during Victoria's reign. Worries about the failure of vocational training and a paranoia that German manufacturing was powering ahead were common in the days of Lloyd George and Asquith. Supposedly modern concerns about the impacts of new technology on jobs and inequality date back to at least Captain Swing and Ned Ludd. As the economy emerges from the COVID-19 recession and sets out on a new post-Brexit future, an understanding of the past is vital to seeing how the future might play out.
©2021 Duncan Weldon (P)2021 Hachette Audio UKListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
"Here's the history that really matters." (Financial Times)
What listeners say about Two Hundred Years of Muddling Through
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- david james
- 15-03-24
A great overview of British history.
I really enjoyed the pace and detail as it goes through our history of the modern age.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Rory Martin
- 03-09-21
Punchy contextualisation of UK's economic history
Great run through of UK economic history, giving a thorough brushing up of economic terms without being patronising for lay people, and placing the country's achievements and failures in their correct context.
The author reads it himself which I'm sometimes dubious about, but works well here, his passion and knowledge for the subject and his own work shining through.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Debbie
- 12-05-23
Amazing book, which I found fascinating from beginning to end
I loved this book as it set out economics and politics in such a simple way that even I could understand it. I love history and this was a whole new side of history that I had not thought about before. Definitely added to my favourites collection.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Joe McGuchan
- 07-01-22
A must read for all
A brilliant overview of British economic history, contains truths in it that will challenge both left and right wing readers. I'm going to read it a second time just to see what I missed
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Chris
- 26-07-24
Solid Overview
I found this is a solid and up-to-date overview of the British economy over the last 200+ years. I understand that Weldon is a centre-left Keynesian, but his biases only rarely shine through, in fact I'd say he impressively keeps them in check. He also does a good job narrating. Recommended.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Judy Corstjens
- 30-09-21
There are better history books available these days.
This is a pleasant bicycle ride through UK economic history - compared to the Orient Express train of, say Yuval Noah Harari, the Post War Bentley of, say, Tony Judd, or being on a private jet with Steven Pinker and his crew of Better Angels. I quite enjoyed reviewing 200 years of the sort of stories that make up the headlines of the FT week by week, but there is little attempt to create a historical sweep, theory, thesis - the author just muddles through; the one-damn-thing-after-another school of history. There are so many brilliant books on Audible these days, that this book only barely earns it 10h listening time, for me.
Narration. The author reads his own book, something I often enjoy. Unfortunately Weldon says ‘growf’ for ‘growth’ and he says ‘ferver’ when he means ‘further’. The inability to pronounce the English ‘th’ may be a perfectly acceptable regional accent these days, but it is still not the accent I would choose for a narrator of a non-fiction book.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Craig
- 19-11-21
Enlightening
Well paced, informative but easy to listen to. Made me look forward to my drive to work!
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- Anonymous User
- 16-10-21
Very informative
Greatly enjoyed this book, I plan to read it again as there's so much information I can get just as much enjoyment second time round.
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- Caomhinb
- 19-02-22
Excellent balanced view of our economy.
It’s so hard to know that whatever the Chancellor of the Exchequer tells you at the Budget is good or bad for you, me and the rest of society over the long run? This book has definitely helped me have a broader view of how we got into the financial mess we are in now and even gave me some ideas on how to get out of it! Highly recommend it to all taxpayers and maybe even a few Chancellors too!
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