Boxing styles UK vs US - Why nations fail

Thinking Allowed

BBC

Science, Society & Culture

4.4 • 973 Ratings

🗓️ 7 March 2012

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Why do some nations remain mired in poverty whilst others thrive? A new book argues that the clue to prosperity has less to do with a country's climate, culture and geography than with the inclusivity of its institutions. Authoritarian regimes may succeed in the short run, but long term wealth is only ensured by secure private property, the rule of law and democracy. James Robinson, Professor of Government at Harvard University, discusses his thesis with Laurie Taylor. They're joined by Paul Collier, Professor of Economics at Oxford University. Also 'A Straight Left against a Slogging Ruffian' - the origins of different boxing styles in the UK and US. Research by, Kasia Boddy, an English lecturer at University College, London, explores the boxing boom in the years leading up to the First World War. How did anxieties about the pre-war balance of power turn into a debate on the pros and cons of English versus American styles of boxing? And does this cultural clash about sporting technique still get played out today? Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Take some time for yourself with soothing classical music from the mindful mix,
0:06.0	the Science of Happiness Podcast.
0:08.0	For the last 20 years I've dedicated my career to exploring the science of living a happier more meaningful life and I want
0:14.4	to share that science with you.
0:16.1	And just one thing, deep calm with Michael Mosley.
0:19.4	I want to help you tap in to your hidden relaxation response system and open the door to that
0:25.4	calmer place within. Listen on BBC Sounds.
0:30.3	This is a Thinking Loud Podcast from the BBC and for more details in our terms of use and much, much more about thinking aloud.
0:40.0	Go to our website at BBC.co. UK.
0:43.0	Hello. I only remember one unchallenged hero from my childhood home,
0:49.0	not a film star or a pop singer or despite my mother's best endeavors, a Pope or a Catholic martyr.
0:55.0	No, our only real family hero, the subject of photos on the wall and endless triumphalist
1:01.1	conversations was the boxer Bruce Woodcock.
1:04.9	Indeed, from the way my dad talked about Woodcock and how tough he was and how he became
1:08.4	the British heavyweight champion, he might have thought he'd single-handedly won the Second
1:11.8	World War. He was certainly in those dull,
1:14.3	deprived, rationed days a shining symbol of national pride. All of which meant that his
1:20.6	upcoming fight in 1947 with the American Joe Baxi was seen as an opportunity
1:25.4	for the Americans to be put firmly in their place.
1:28.5	They might have been able to boast about their role in their war and their list of past heavyweight champions, Jack Dempsey and Joe Lewis among
1:35.7	them, but they'd never before come up against anyone like our Bruce Woodcock.
1:41.8	Here's a reminder of how those high hopes, along with their custodian, was
	...

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