Image: TradeZero
Brexit continues to fascinate me as a marker for how a nation is struggling with the clash of nationalism, which is neither bad nor good but simply exists, vs economic factors. Andrew Sullivan continues to illuminate how the generic Brexiteer regards the situation in an epic take down of Nick Kristof in the second part of his weekly tri-partite diary for New York Mag’s Intelligencer:
It is instead baffling as a distant friend of Kristof’s to see that he has “gone nuts” over Brexit. He cites the various projections of lower economic growth, which are plausible. And yet, far worse scenarios of economic calamity were broadcast prior to the referendum by the Remain campaign — it was known as “Project Fear” — and they still lost. It is as if (and I hope Nick is sitting down) the British were prepared to sacrifice some wealth in order to ensure that the British Parliament will have the sole say in how Britain is governed. He cites the possibility of breakup, ridiculing the idea that the English, whose nationhood is just as deep as the Scots and the Welsh and Irish, might actually end up as a “little” nation of 53 million, as opposed to a “great” nation with almost 67 million people. (Here’s a map of the British Isles, according to population density.)
I was surprised at my own shocked reaction, to be honest – the idea that “… the British were prepared to sacrifice some wealth in order to ensure that the British Parliament will have the sole say in how Britain is governed.” And yet it’s an obvious trade-off, isn’t it? Why didn’t I see it?
But if the Brits see the decisions of the European Parliament and allied bureaucrats in Brussels as deleterious to the metaphorical fortunes of themselves, as opposed to their literal fortunes, it’s certainly their right to stand up and say, Yeah, wealth is not as important to us as having a say in how our lives are run!
Bloody obvious, really, once I sit and think about it. I’m almost embarrassed to have really missed that viewpoint. And I suspect ridicule by Kristof (“[Brexiteers have] gone nuts“) and other anti-Brexiteers will merely result in heels digging in; perhaps those who are incredulous at what’s happening all around them across the Pond should perhaps sit down and really listen to their opposition. And re-examine their own reasoning.
