fatuous ideology

British leaders, however, could not rid themselves of the fatuous ideology which said that supporters of Progress were necessarily a Good Thing: they simply could not see that, in Germany, it was not the forces of aristocratic reaction, but the forces of radical modernity which were implacably and specifically bent on disputing Britain's position in the world. - Englanders and Huns by James Hawes

от себя добавлю: когда дело касается позиции в мире, иначе говоря, места под солнцем, трудно ожидать добровольных уступок от кого бы то ни было. британцам следовало бы взглянуть на себя со стороны...