Exactly what is so great about Britain?

SO MANY words have been written around the 300th anniversary of the Act of Union; so few have focused on the principal consequence of this momentous event: the creation of the British state. It is salutary to examine the performance of this new state, particularly in the early years. For the most part, that performance was inglorious and dire.

The defining political force of the fledgling British state was Sir Robert Walpole, who is generally regarded as Britain's first prime minister. Certainly, his influence was such that, in effect, he created the office - even if it was not then as we ...