[tictoc]

Of course, Camus could have been full of crap; most existentialists are.

Love your dry wit!

What was the secret in Britain that kept them safe from infatuation with an all-encompassing edifice of thought, unlike the "continentals"?

[IronJack]

I don't know. You'd think the Brits would be more isolated, coming from an island and all. And certainly you see a certain uniformity of thought there, but, as you've observed, to a lesser degree than on the continent, where you would suspect diversity would dilute any concentration of ideology.

I imagine it has to do with the historic British reserve. They don't tend to be a people who give themselves wholeheartedly to any particular cause, and always maintain a measure of cynicism.

[JohnGalt]

King Arthur versus the Teutonic Order, the mythos of each culture sealed its fate. While King Arthur was fighting for such abstracts as "justice and chivalry," the Teutonic Order was pushing back the Mongrel invasion. The Teutonic Knights declared those who fight the order, fight Jesus Christ...a few hundred years of history later, one can understand the divergence.

[KC Burke]

What was the secret in Britain that kept them safe from infatuation with an all-encompassing edifice of thought, unlike the "continentals"?

The existance and prominance at the time of three particular minds:

Adam Smith
Edmund Burke
Dr. Samuel Johnson

And I might add, minds that at the time which did not see themselves in tune or harmony. Only in retrospect do we see them part of The Great Melody that became, and was Old Whig style, Classical Liberalism and its associated good sense in the affairs of men. Good sense, as opposed to overly indulging in those <> messy metaphysics.