How the English-Speaking Peoples Made the Modern World
“Inventing Freedom: How the English-Speaking Peoples Made the Modern World” is Daniel Hannan who is serving in the European parliament as a British member. Hannan is a politician who is known for his conservative faith on various issues. He is also a known author and journalist and has authored several books and articles. Hannan is a staunch supporter of localism and he expresses similar views in abovementioned book. This paper intends to discuss Hannan’s book and further examines his idea of Anglosphere along with discussing other related aspects of the subject.
Hannan believes that British imperialism was for the good and it benefitted the world. The books takes readers into Victorian imperialistic era and appears justifying everything that the British did in order to capture other states. The author advocates that the British Empire and other English speaking nations were the saviors of the civilization and they should come closer again in order to form an Anglosphere realm. Hannan presents different logics in support of his version of the story (Hannan).
Hannan focuses on different aspects of the British rule and prominently on the rule of law. He wants to establish that there was a total anarchy before the British introduced a rule of law in the society. Hannan says that after thousands years of anarchy and lawlessness, British came with the idea of rule of law. The author cites common law and different other theories in his book and further suggests that the society would have not witnessed these civilized rules without the contribution of British.
Hannan describes how United Kingdom of England has affected every aspect of the United States of America. He describes historical origin and expansion of fundamental ideas and suggests how they influenced the making of the America. He suggests British influence on economic and political autonomy that exist today in the United States of America. Hannan argues further that Americans have inherited the idea of freedom, human rights and Right of private property.
Hannan tries to establish that British propounded the rule of law and taught about various institutions. These institutions emerged as the pillars of the modern governments. He further suggests that the world has indebted to the Brittan for common law, various rights, duties and different types of liberties. He says that British developed these institutions and ideas and Anglosphere nations successfully implemented these ideas in their nations which made them prosperous and successful.
Hannan suggests that other cultures have learnt a lot from Anglosphere. He suggests that even if there are similar circumstances, other societies cannot perform as British did. Hannan suggests that nations that learnt and implemented British culture were also benefitted in similar manner. He writes, “The reason why a child of Greek parents in Melbourne is better off than a child of Greek parents in Mytilene has nothing to do with race and everything to do with political structures” (Carter).
He also suggests that various other nations were equipped with all the amenities but due to lack of their communication skills, i.e. English, they did not enjoy the same privilege that England used to enjoy. Hannan suggests that English was one very strong bonding agent that kept Anglosphere united. He suggests that Anglosphere nations face different challenges in modern times because they do not abide by the British ideas anymore.
Daniel Hannan presents some good arguments in order to corroborate his contention but at times he sounds exaggerating. He underestimates other cultures and their contribution. He is only concerned about British, American and Anglosphere culture and their contribution. He keeps advocating that Anglosphere nations have successfully developed as leaders and the need to come together and form a strong assemblage. He believes that Anglosphere should emerge as the leaders once again.
Hannan appears to be in some kind of romantic illusion and is unable to come out of his love for Anglosphere. He ignores several crucial developments around the around world and keeps chanting about British contributions. Hannan forgets to understand that ancient civilizations like India, Mesopotamia and china have contributed a lot in the civilization. There were Hammurabi code and Bhagwat Gita that used to regulate the society much before the emergence of the common law (Stadler).
Hannan makes some logical points in his book but his conceptual masks slips from his real face and his real agenda surfaces. He either has some complex or lack of knowledge that appears in his book. The author presents his ideas in a biased manner and his views are exposed. The book appears as if the same is written to please someone. Hannan has been widely criticized for his biased views and lack of vision.
People who miss the era of British imperialism may like the book as it keeps boasting about the same. Danial Hannan’s book may gather support of several Anglophiles who are stuck in the British imperialistic era. The author keeps boasting about British contributions to the modern world but it does not say a word about contributions of others. He fails to acknowledge that a world existed even before the emergence of the British Empire. He mentions that countries like France and Spain were also not like the British probably because they did not use to speak English (Hannan).
Hannan talks about Anglosphere which has weakened in contemporary times. The world has changed a lot and so have changed the circumstances. Hannan forgets that United Kingdom does not design the policies of the world anymore and a number of other power centers have emerged. The idea of Anglosphere is almost seized to exist and every nation has some interests that is guided by its interests and priorities. United Kingdom, United States of America and few other Anglosphere nations share amicable relations but they do neither compromise with their own interests nor do they hesitate in joining hands of others if they feel it necessary for their interests.
Having observed the succinct analysis of the book, “Inventing Freedom: How the English-Speaking Peoples Made the Modern World”, this paper concludes that Daniel Hannan tries to force his emotions and personal views on readers. He seems presenting some irrational facts and presents his arguments in an imbalanced way. Hannan forgets while describes his views that the world has changed and the United Kingdom does not enjoy the same status as it used to enjoy sometimes. Hannan argues to form an Anglosphere but while making such arguments, he forgets that the international relation is a complicated issue and doing such may create complicacies for the members of such coalition.
Works Cited
Carter, Nick. "How the English speaking people invented freedom." 15 February 2014. Lucky Culture. 20 October 2014.
Hannan, Daniel. Inventing Freedom: How the English-Speaking Peoples Made the Modern World. USA: Harper Collins, 2013.
Stadler, Jan. "A Review of Daniel Hannan’s Inventing Freedom." 29 May 2014. Faith and Heritage. 20 October 2014.
