The United Kingdom was the world’s dominant economic power from the rise of industrialization in the early nineteenth century. But it lost its predominance and was gradually eclipsed by the US, which, at least since 1945, has been the undisputed leader among market-based economies.
有些基本事实是毋庸置疑的。自19世纪早期工业化兴起后英国一度占据世界经济霸主地位，但它却逐渐失去其统治力并被美国取代，而后者至少从1945年以来一直是市场经济国家中当之无愧的领袖。