Wait, that doesn’t track. Until 2020, Britain had one of the most open and trade dependent economies. And austerity dates only back to 2010 or so. It’s doubtful that Britain’s current situation can be explained by policies that are barely a decade old.
In terms of per-capita GDP, the UK was behind France from 1985 to 1998. It jumped to parity with the US from 1998 to 2008. But that jump seems to be a product of the very financialization that the Atlantic article complains of. That evaporated after the 2007 recession. And since then, the UK hasn’t done any worse than France or Italy: https://www.google.com/search?q=uk+per+capita+gdp&client=saf...
In terms of per-capita GDP, the UK was behind France from 1985 to 1998. It jumped to parity with the US from 1998 to 2008. But that jump seems to be a product of the very financialization that the Atlantic article complains of. That evaporated after the 2007 recession. And since then, the UK hasn’t done any worse than France or Italy: https://www.google.com/search?q=uk+per+capita+gdp&client=saf...