In Britain, enrichment became the end in itself. Industry hollowed out. Finance swelled. The state stopped building and started selling.

In case you didn’t know, Lenin’s Imperialism, the highest stage of capitalism is an early study of this phenom. By studying the growth of savings banks in Europe and it’s inherent tendency to consolidate, Lenin developed the theory that financial capital will inevitably gobble up industrial capital because banks end up having access to the money supply of everyone, from workers to capitalists.