The phrase, “self-praise is no praise” comes to mind. Greatness is an objective assessment that is conferred on or ascribed to a person or a society and cannot be self-claimed. If a society wants to be great, that’s an aspiration to live up to, but it is not up to that society to call itself “great”. To do so would be seen as self-aggrandizing, patting oneself on the back while the rest of the world looks on with furrowed brows.
That said, let’s unpack the “great” in what I believe is the only nation with the word “great” in its name, and that’s Great Britain. “Great” refers to a size or magnitude, and yes, at one time Britain did control much of the world politically, economically and socially through its vast network of colonies. However, since the world began de-colonizing, Britain’s direct influence over the world has diminished greatly (see what I did there?). Yet, it still retains the title of Great. What it means today is that three separate entities, England, Scotland and Wales combined make up Great Britain, a tenuous claim to greatness made on the basis of lines on a map.
But to dismiss Britain’s contribution to the creation of the modern world would be unfair. From the historical perspective, Britain played a hugely significant role in the modernization of the world. For one, due to the huge network of colonies it once controlled — now called the Commonwealth — it established a common language that is spoken the world over. Accents, references and colloquialisms vary, but English became the basis for a true lingua franca (oh, the irony!) through which everyone regardless of their place of origin could understand another with minimal translation. While the world still talks in several languages today (yes, I acknowledge that English is not The Universal Language), regardless of local mother tongues, almost everyone is able to speak in just a handful of common languages, English being in the top 3.
Furthermore, Britain’s common law was spread through the world by the same means. Having strong historical roots in the Magna Carta of 1215, it paved the way for Britain’s former colonies, now newly independent states, to Democracy, equality, human rights and the rule of law which even monarchs are not above. This political flattening gave masses of people empowerment, self-determination and freedom at a level never before enjoyed by the human inhabitants of the world — well, ever since people invented hierarchical politics, anyway. Even if former colonies are still monarchies in name, like Canada and Australia, they are still constitutional monarchies that are functionally democracies, just with a royal figurehead for symbolic and cultural purposes only.
With today’s countries being able to speak a common language and abide by a common legal philosophy, countries are able to more easily engage in diplomatic and trade negotiations, creating a world that enjoys much peace and prosperity at the global level. Whether Britain intended this kind of positive global impact when it decided to colonize the world by gunpoint or silver, colonialism swept in like a devastating forest fire but left a structure upon which a new modern world grew up around. This is why the world today rolls its eyes, yet tolerates Britain’s “Great” prefix.
What Britain did with guns and money, post-WW2 USA attempted with money… and tactical ordnance. America’s global machinations engineered great leaps in modernization and overall prosperity for much of the world — in a shorter time than it took the Brits. Like the Pax Britannia, Pax Americana led a global revolution in industrialization, trade and overtly humanitarian aid for the people of nations that have yet to fully modernize. For the USA, it was the time it wielded the greatest political and economic power, and after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the USA was for a time the world’s only superpower.
Whatever ulterior motives the USA may have, the world at that time witnessed great efforts in ushering in a new era of global peace and prosperity that came from an ostentatious extension of a helping hand motivated by an apparent belief in prospering thy neighbour — except those territories who’ve not yet been bombed enough into accepting American friendship. Regardless, no one ever called the USA “great”. Perhaps it was too early to call, and judging by how American politics seems to now be turning its back on the world, it probably was too early to call.
What once made America tacitly great was in its openness and proactive generosity towards the world. It was about openness of borders to people and trade, in the belief in equal rights and making friends of enemies. Consider how Japan and Vietnam, former adversaries of the USA, were rehabilitated economically by US aid relatively quickly and brought back as global trade partners with their political and cultural identities influenced, but still mostly intact. But since the about face that the USA has taken in recent times, “Make America great again” is a pompous slogan that means little beyond nostalgic political rah-rah, especially today when what made America great once before is the near complete opposite of what America is today.
Greatness is about size, not just in terms of geographical area but in the power to influence global change for the better. Yet “Great” is an ascribed title that has to be earned rather than self-claimed… or in the case of Great Britain, grudgingly accepted. We recall societies consigned to history such as Babylon, Egypt and Rome. Massive in size, hugely influential in the spread of relative peace and prosperity for the people while each was busy conquering more people to bring peace and prosperity to — the survivors and their descendants, anyway. For what they accomplished in the time they existed we do think of what great empires they were. The title of “Great” genuinely applies only after the civilization in question has closed its last chapter. Self-praise is no praise. History is a much more credible judge of greatness than some political puffery on a red baseball cap.
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Inspired by Singapore-Cambridge GCE ‘A’ Level H1 General Paper (Paper 1) 2020 Question #5