--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Britain was overtaken not only in gross…" description: "\"“Britain was overtaken not only in gross output but also in output per worker. It lost its lead in technological innovation.”\" — Thomas Sowell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e67/thomas-sowell-247_britain_britain-was-overtaken-not-only-in-gross_552009.jpg" --- # Britain was overtaken not only in gross output but also in… ![“Britain was overtaken not only in gross output but also in output per worker. It lost its lead in technological innovation.” quote by Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e67/thomas-sowell-247_britain_britain-was-overtaken-not-only-in-gross_552009.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e67/thomas-sowell-247_britain_britain-was-overtaken-not-only-in-gross_552009.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e67/thomas-sowell-247_britain_britain-was-overtaken-not-only-in-gross_552009.jpg) > ““Britain was overtaken not only in gross output but also in output per worker. It lost its lead in technological innovation.”” [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Britain fell behind in output and innovation, losing its economic lead. **In simple terms:** Britain lost productivity and innovation lead. Key Takeaway Focus on innovation to stay competitive. Themes economics productivity innovation Mood critical reflective Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - business strategy - government policy - education curricula Key Concepts industrial policy technological change global competition Questions to Reflect On - What drives sustained innovation? - How can economies revive productivity? A Different Perspective Innovation requires sustained investment, not just policy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Britain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/britain/) [Britain Overtaken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/britain-overtaken-4593754/) [Gross Output](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gross-output-4593756/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [Overtaken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overtaken-138424/) [Overtaken Gross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overtaken-gross-4593755/) [Productivity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/productivity/) ## Related quotes > [No longer are there immutable standards by which to judge ourselves. Image has overtaken reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-goldsmith/no-longer-are-there-immutable-standards-by-which-to-judge-ourselves/) [Barbara Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-goldsmith/) > [The overtaken need not to be taken over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-overtaken-need-not-to-be-taken-over/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Envy is a sign that you are being overtaken”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/envy-is-a-sign-that-you-are-being-overtaken/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [She is overtaken by a sensation of unbeing. There is no other word for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/she-is-overtaken-by-a-sensation-of-unbeing-there-is-no-other-word-for/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [Do you know that disease and death must needs overtake us, no matter what we are doing?... what do you wish to be doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/do-you-know-that-disease-and-death-must-needs-overtake-us-no-matter/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Only the one who walks his own way can't be overtaken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-brando/only-the-one-who-walks-his-own-way-can-t-be-overtaken/) [Marlon Brando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-brando/) > [A thing may be dreaded as long as it has not overtaken you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chanakya/a-thing-may-be-dreaded-as-long-as-it-has-not-overtaken-you/) [Chanakya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chanakya/) > [“The elderly were formerly young before being utterly overtaken by years. It is only orderly that they arrive first at our common destination of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-okay-nwachukwu/the-elderly-were-formerly-young-before-being-utterly-overtaken-by/) [Vincent Okay Nwachukwu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-okay-nwachukwu/) > [Much of the world today, including the United States, is still living in the social, cultural, and political aftermath of Britain's cultural achievements, its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/much-of-the-world-today-including-the-united-states-is-still-living/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Financial institutions are not being bailed out as a favor to them or their stockholders. In fact, stockholders have come out worse off after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/financial-institutions-are-not-being-bailed-out-as-a-favor-to-them-or/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Britain has the IRA and no one cancels concerts there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-osbourne/britain-has-the-ira-and-no-one-cancels-concerts-there/) [Sharon Osbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-osbourne/) > [It is time Britain put its trust back into the Labour Party. I believe I am the candidate that can make this happen precisely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-abbott/it-is-time-britain-put-its-trust-back-into-the-labour-party-i-believe/) [Diane Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-abbott/) > [If we don't like modern Britain, then it is very unlikely that modern Britain will like us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-green/if-we-don-t-like-modern-britain-then-it-is-very-unlikely-that-modern/) [Damian Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-green/) > [In Britain, the press want to kill a show by revealing what's coming up and spoiling the pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-bonneville/in-britain-the-press-want-to-kill-a-show-by-revealing-what-s-coming/) [Hugh Bonneville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-bonneville/) > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) ## More by Thomas Sowell > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [There is no bigger waste of time than doing 90% of what is necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/there-is-no-bigger-waste-of-time-than-doing-90-of-what-is-necessary/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [If you have always believed that everyone should play by the same rules and be judged by the same standards, that would have gotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/if-you-have-always-believed-that-everyone-should-play-by-the-same/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“In 1962, Democratic President John F. Kennedy, like both Democratic and Republican Presidents and Secretaries of the Treasury in earlier years, pointed out that “it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/in-1962-democratic-president-john-f-kennedy-like-both-democratic-and/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Ideological bigotry has become the norm on even our most prestigious campuses, where students can go for years without reading or hearing anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/ideological-bigotry-has-become-the-norm-on-even-our-most-prestigious/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Bailing out people who made ill-advised mortgages makes no more sense that bailing out people who lost their life savings in Las Vegas casinos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/bailing-out-people-who-made-ill-advised-mortgages-makes-no-more-sense/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“One third of all Scots in the mid-nineteenth century moved from one county to another”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/one-third-of-all-scots-in-the-mid-nineteenth-century-moved-from-one/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The difference is that we have the hardest and most painful evidence that there was a Holocaust. But, for the global warming scenario that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-difference-is-that-we-have-the-hardest-and-most-painful-evidence/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“Just as price fluctuations allocate scarce resources which have alternative uses, price controls which limit those fluctuations reduce the incentives for individuals to limit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/just-as-price-fluctuations-allocate-scarce-resources-which-have/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The greatest danger to the liberal vision are facts about the consequences of liberalism itself and the laws, policies, and ways of life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-greatest-danger-to-the-liberal-vision-are-facts-about-the/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Having spent years ruining the housing markets with their interference, leading to a housing meltdown that has taken the whole economy down with it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/having-spent-years-ruining-the-housing-markets-with-their/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Do all children have some inherent right to live in America if they have done nothing wrong? If not, then why should the children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/do-all-children-have-some-inherent-right-to-live-in-america-if-they/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [What 'eminent domain' laws mean in practice is that politicians have a right to seize your property and turn it over to someone else,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/what-eminent-domain-laws-mean-in-practice-is-that-politicians-have-a/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“those parts of the British Isles without the advantage of coal deposits or ports, industrialization was as handicapped as in other countries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/those-parts-of-the-british-isles-without-the-advantage-of-coal/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The whole idea of equal justice under law is completely incompatible with the idea of judges deciding cases according to "empathy".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-whole-idea-of-equal-justice-under-law-is-completely-incompatible/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) [Explore all 823 Thomas Sowell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) ## More Britain quotes > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [In Britain, the press want to kill a show by revealing what's coming up and spoiling the pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-bonneville/in-britain-the-press-want-to-kill-a-show-by-revealing-what-s-coming/) [Hugh Bonneville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-bonneville/) > [If we don't like modern Britain, then it is very unlikely that modern Britain will like us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-green/if-we-don-t-like-modern-britain-then-it-is-very-unlikely-that-modern/) [Damian Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-green/) > [It is time Britain put its trust back into the Labour Party. I believe I am the candidate that can make this happen precisely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-abbott/it-is-time-britain-put-its-trust-back-into-the-labour-party-i-believe/) [Diane Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-abbott/) > [Britain has the IRA and no one cancels concerts there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-osbourne/britain-has-the-ira-and-no-one-cancels-concerts-there/) [Sharon Osbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-osbourne/) > [The establishment in Britain is certainly against the arts and against education. If something doesn't make a profit, it's invalid, and art doesn't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-maxwell-davies/the-establishment-in-britain-is-certainly-against-the-arts-and/) [Peter Maxwell Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-maxwell-davies/) > [We from every religion feel comfortable in Britain because there is a host. The Church of England is a good host, it has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/we-from-every-religion-feel-comfortable-in-britain-because-there-is-a/) [Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/) > [The larger an English industry was, the more likely it was to go bankrupt, because the English were not naturally corporate people; they disliked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/the-larger-an-english-industry-was-the-more-likely-it-was-to-go/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [I think the first person to call me 'Britain's Obama' was Martin Bright at the New Statesman. Harriet Harman made the comparison once at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuka-umunna/i-think-the-first-person-to-call-me-britain-s-obama-was-martin-bright/) [Chuka Umunna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuka-umunna/) > [I am the last of Britain's stately homos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/i-am-the-last-of-britain-s-stately-homos/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [ As for whether what happened in Britain improves\[Donald\] Trump's chances of winning, I don't think so. He has the same chances; we may just… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-michael-cillizza/as-for-whether-what-happened-in-britain-improves-donald-trump-s/) [Christopher Michael Cillizza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-michael-cillizza/) > [Britain, like other European states, is not and never will again be in the top-world-power league, so its male leaders can afford to play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-colley/britain-like-other-european-states-is-not-and-never-will-again-be-in/) [Linda Colley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-colley/) > [When you go away, you see where you come from in a different light. I see Scotland, and the rest of Britain, as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/when-you-go-away-you-see-where-you-come-from-in-a-different-light-i/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [It was very hard breaking into the film industry in Britain. I had been to art school, and I was painting and doing commercials.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-scott/it-was-very-hard-breaking-into-the-film-industry-in-britain-i-had/) [Tony Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-scott/) > [Germany has always stood for an E.U. of the 27 countries. But in light of Britain's continued resistance to further integration steps, as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-schauble/germany-has-always-stood-for-an-e-u-of-the-27-countries-but-in-light/) [Wolfgang Schauble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-schauble/) [Browse all 1,648 Britain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/britain/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Britain was overtaken not only in gross output but also in output per worker. It lost its lead in technological innovation.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Sowell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/britain-was-overtaken-not-only-in-gross-output-but-also-in-output-per/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Britain" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/britain-was-overtaken-not-only-in-gross-output-but-also-in-output-per/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e67/thomas-sowell-247_britain_britain-was-overtaken-not-only-in-gross_552009.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e67/thomas-sowell-247_britain_britain-was-overtaken-not-only-in-gross_552009.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e67/thomas-sowell-247_britain_britain-was-overtaken-not-only-in-gross_552009.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Britain was overtaken not only in gross output but also in output per worker. It lost its lead in…” — Thomas Sowell", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Thomas Sowell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Britain was overtaken not only in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/britain-was-overtaken-not-only-in-gross-output-but-also-in-output-per/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/britain-was-overtaken-not-only-in-gross-output-but-also-in-output-per/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```