Omitn - you seem to connect 'great' with military or political power.
Sorry, my post was somewhat of a ramble. I meant that, beyond the semantic definition of "great" in Great Britain, our greatness was built on a fairly straightforward political attitude, itself based on military might.
But, what I was then trying to say was that, the empire having ceased, we have declined as a nation in that sense, but have had influence in other ways.
I do agree that the general principle of fairness that we display through being one of the oldest democracies (and the oldest parliamentary democracy) is something that remains attractive. Though, I do not think that we have a sole streak of fairness - we are a pretty ambitious bunch, and are happy to drop principles when it comes to making a few quid (hence the massive economic migration of the mid and late 20th Century).
China, I agree on in the context of its internally socio-political construct, but its aggressive international economic stance will create in it more power than the USA, with its inward looking puritanism at its heart, ever could in its heyday during the C20th.
for me, though, the next "great" country will be India. And, it will be in part a reflection on Briain's own greatness that we will have had such a defining influence on such an extraordinary nation state.
