But I see nothing interesting in the observation that English will be our common language from here to eternity, or Hollywood, because of English, the tool by which America establishes cultural domination over all English-speaking audiences. Since English is becoming the world language, its use as a basis for exclusive bonding between the Brits and the Yanks is certain to become a bigger anachronism than it already is. There's nothing special about English, or television, or the internet, or consumer goods, or even about the nature of modern capitalism that guarantees for another century the special connections Britain and America enjoyed in the last. Culturally speaking, the biggest change over the 20th century has been the globalisation of both the English language and American culture. There's a symmetry here with Europe.
Cultural connections are a limited guide to political, even existential, reality.
Some of the most ferocious British Eurosceptics insist that because they love Mozart, read Proust and have been spotted at the Bayreuth festival, they must be regarded as impeccably pro-European. Michael Portillo's fluency in Spanish is supposed to give the lie to any picture of him as a British nationalist. But these credentials mean little. The 20th century began with Britain still, just about, the greatest power on earth, and America largely withdrawn from the circle where power politics was played out. London surpassed Washington in importance, in experience, in wisdom, in pragmatism, and in commitment to the shaping of the world.