United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Land Population

IV. Personal freedom. There should be a presumption, always and everywhere, against state coercion⁶. We should tolerate eccentricity in others, almost to the point of lunacy, provided no one else is harmed.

V. Private property. Freedom must include the freedom to buy and sell without fear of confiscation, to transfer ownership, to sign contracts and have them enforced. Britain was quicker than most countries to recognise this and became, in consequence, one of the happiest and most prosperous nations on Earth.

VI. Institutions. British freedom and British character are

immanent⁷ in British institutions. These are not, mostly, statutory bodies, but spring from the way free individuals regulate each other's conduct, and provide for their needs, without recourse to coercion.

VII. The family. Civic society depends on values being passed from generation to generation. Stable families are the essential ingredient of a stable society.

VIII. History. British children inherit a political culture, a set of specific legal rights and obligations, and a stupendous series of national achievements. They should be taught about these things.

IX. The English-speaking world. The atrocities of September 11, 2001, were not simply an attack on a foreign nation; they were an attack on the anglosphere⁸ – on all of us who believe in freedom, justice and the rule of law.

X. The British character. Shaped by and in turn shaping our national institutions is our character as a people: stubborn, stoical, indignant at injustice. "The Saxon," wrote Kipling, "never means anything seriously till he talks about justice and right."

Not for the first time, we have been slow - perhaps too slow - to wake up to the threat we face. Now is the time to "talk about justice and right", and to act on our words.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/telegraph-view/3618632/Ten-core-values-of-the-British-identity.html, 25.03.2011
Notes:
¹ atrocity [ə'trOsəti] – жестокость, зверство, злодеяние

² perpetrate ['pq:pitreit] – совершать, быть ответственным за

³ buy into – поверить

⁴ notion – представление, понятие

⁵ set out – идентифицировать

⁶ coercion [kəu'WS(ə)n] – принуждение, насилие

⁷ immanent – имманентный (внутренне присущий какому-л. пред-мету, явлению, проистекающий из его природы)

⁸ anglosphere – англосфера (совокупность стран, в которых английский является единственным или одним из официальных языков, и в которых основные культурные, правовые, политические и иные приоритеты исторически связаны с традиционным британским ценностями и соответствуют им)
XI. These extracts from the special series of guide-books present an ironical depicting of the English and Scottish people given by the British writers. Skim them through and do the following assignments.
a) Render these extracts in English and then express your opinion on the contents.
b) Answer the following questions.
1. Do you think people should be so futile while discussing such serious matters of their national identity?

2. Do your opinions of Englishmen and Scots coincide with the authors’ veiwpoints?

3. Did you find any character traits to be similar with the ones of the Russians?

4. Do you suppose the authors to be correct when speaking of nations in such a derisive tone?

5. How would you briefly describe the Russians?
c) Find similar information about the Welsh and Irish people and discuss it during the next class with your group-mates.