Is the West in terminal decline? Some have dubbed the British armed forces a “laughing stock” after an expensive UK missile misfired sensationally for the second time in a row.
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UK sub almost sinks itself with missile flop
Is the West in terminal decline? Some have dubbed the British armed forces a "laughing stock" after an expensive UK missile misfired sensationally for the second time in a row.
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading eplus-wrapper">Mild West</h2>
"This is the way the world ends/not with a bang but a whimper." So goes TS EliotThe initials stand for Thomas Stearns. Born in the US, Eliot was one of the most influential figures in 20th-Century literature.'s famous 1925 poem The Hollow Men.
Eliot's poem was written after World War One, and reflected the poet's feelings of hopelessness about post-war European culture. But some say time has done nothing to diminish its relevance.
Is this Britain's whimper? The latest test of the UK's "world-class" nuclear deterrentNuclear weapons kept by a country as a warning to others not to attack. has quite literally fallen short again, landing in the sea close to the launch site. Sources say that it was due to a failure of the missile's booster rockets.
It was supposed to travel 3,700 miles, but it only managed a few metres. For some, it is a humiliating symbol of Britain's decline.
In the 18th and 19th Centuries, Britain had the strongest military in the world and the most powerful navy in history. The English politician Sir William Blackstone described it as "the floating bulwarkA defensive wall. of our island".
Nowadays, this sounds like ancient history. One anonymous observer quoted in the Sun claimed that the missile that was fired last month "left the submarine, but just went plop."1
It verges on farceAn absurd situation, or an absurd and comic play. , say some. How does a £17m missile "just go plop"? And how does a £4bn nuclear submarine fail to launch it... after an eight-year, £500m upgrade?2
The Trident nuclear-weapons system is part of Britain's nuclear deterrent. It is supposed to shield the country from its adversariesRivals or enemies. . But now Britain seems more like a figure of fun than a threat.
Britannia rules the waves no longer, it would seem. But why should Britons care? For some, the nation has always been a small island driven by an inflated sense of self-importance.
Others say that Britons should be concerned not about a loss of power, but a loss of ideals. And this movement has an unlikely prophet: the Soviet dissidentA person who opposes official policy, especially that of an authoritarian state. and author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.
In an attack on Western liberalismA political and moral philosophy that protects and enhances the rights of the individual. , Solzhenitsyn warned of a "decline of courage" and a "spiritual exhaustion" plaguing the West. He called western culture a "cult of material well-being".
In many ways, his words are an eery warning of present powerlessness. The spectre of Russian imperialismThe practice of growing a country's power through colonisation or force. looms large once more, and yet the US hesitates on sending aid to Ukraine.3 War in the Middle East has caused dangerous divisions at home. And the possible assassination of Alexei NavalnyA well-known opposition leader in Russia and critic of Vladimir Putin, who died in prison in 2024 at the age of 47. in Russia last week was carried out without fear of punishment.
Is the West in terminal decline?
Yes: The failed missile launch shows the broader failure of western civilisation to adapt to the new power structures created by modernity and globalisation.
No: It is just a failed missile test launch. As embarrassing as it is, experts say that the odds of such a thing happening in a real-world scenario are extremely low.
Or... If anything, such gaffes are a pillar of British culture. In fact, Britain has often been at its most powerful when it is at its most silly.
TS Eliot - The initials stand for Thomas Stearns. Born in the US, Eliot was one of the most influential figures in 20th-Century literature.
Nuclear deterrent - Nuclear weapons kept by a country as a warning to others not to attack.
Bulwark - A defensive wall.
Farce - An absurd situation, or an absurd and comic play.
Adversaries - Rivals or enemies.
Dissident - A person who opposes official policy, especially that of an authoritarian state.
Liberalism - A political and moral philosophy that protects and enhances the rights of the individual.
Imperialism - The practice of growing a country's power through colonisation or force.
Alexei Navalny - A well-known opposition leader in Russia and critic of Vladimir Putin, who died in prison in 2024 at the age of 47.
UK sub almost sinks itself with missile flop
Sea fiasco: An unarmed Trident II ballistic missile crashed into the sea shortly after launch. Glossary
TS Eliot - The initials stand for Thomas Stearns. Born in the US, Eliot was one of the most influential figures in 20th-Century literature.
Nuclear deterrent - Nuclear weapons kept by a country as a warning to others not to attack.
Bulwark - A defensive wall.
Farce - An absurd situation, or an absurd and comic play.
Adversaries - Rivals or enemies.
Dissident - A person who opposes official policy, especially that of an authoritarian state.
Liberalism - A political and moral philosophy that protects and enhances the rights of the individual.
Imperialism - The practice of growing a country's power through colonisation or force.
Alexei Navalny - A well-known opposition leader in Russia and critic of Vladimir Putin, who died in prison in 2024 at the age of 47.