Why did the English bother fighting World War 2?

Mrs M and I went to that rarest of Hong Kong social occasions: a dinner party. Amongst the guests was a newly arrived upper middle-class Englishman, a well-to-do financial type from the "suffering the colonies until we find local chaps half-competent enough" school. While condensending to break bread with Antipodeans, he clearly saw Hong Kong as something to be endured rather than enjoyed.

The conversation progressed as it typically does at these things: the foibles of local living, the folly of Americans, the idiocy of George W., a few lewd jokes and quietly competitive kiddie-comparisons. For the most part I bit my tongue, knowing I was out-numbered, out-flanked and out-drunk. Yet not once but twice this man slipped in anti-semitic insults. I missed the first, but Mrs M clearly heard it and gave me that meaningful dinner party husband/wife look, which could mean anything from "you have parsley in your teeth" to "Mayday, Mayday, Eject, Eject!" Having missed the comment and being male I had no idea what this look meant, but I knew I would be fully de-briefed after the event to what I assumed was my faux-pas. Later the conversation drifted towards Bill Clinton and inevitably Monica Lewinsky. Our gentleman, with clear vile in his voice, called her "that ugly, money-grubbing, Jewish girl" in the midsts of his diatrabe. Mrs M and I immediately shared that meaningful look. A line had been crossed. We were now in a difficult situation and did the only thing we could without completely embarrassing our hosts. We made our hasty apologies and left, disappointed an otherwise enjoyable night was tarnished by the ignorance of an English twat.

If I had said we were Jewish our learned friend would no doubt have gushed apologies and "it's OK, you're the good kind of Jew". I cannot taint all Brits with the anti-semitic brush. But the incident confirmed my impression that for many upper and upper-middle class Englishmen (and women), this kind of quiet anti-semitism is fed to them with their silver spoon. At least he proved Tony Blair correct in one sense: the classless British society is here. It's just not in the sense they imagined.