Conclusion

Abstract

Although this study does not focus directly on the question of England’s economic decline in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, it has important implications for that controversial issue. Some scholars, particularly Wiener, have focused on ideals to explain England’s decline, attributing it to a lingering reverence for anti-industrial, aristocratic values. In their view, the middle-class commercial and entrepreneurial spirit on display at the Crystal Palace Exhibition in 1851 gave way to the aristocracy’s preference for land, leisure and a disdain for the market. The preference remains to hinder England’s economic performance and potential to this day.