12-13-2018, 06:17 PM
(12-13-2018, 06:13 PM)Dill Wrote: This might interest thread participants. The article makes four good points--too long to reproduce in entirety, but I did copy in the 4th point below, which addresses the crazy optimism about what will happen once the Continental gates close.
British Political Chaos, Explained for Chrissy Teigen (and for Americans in General)
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/1/#inbox/FMfcgxvzMBqKDMsnBqRvFQFCSSXGFBSG
(4) Britain — we say this with love — has deep unresolved national identity issues
The original Brexit delusions — that it would bring huge benefits at no real cost — flow out of some deeper delusions in British society.
When you talk to people here, whether they support Brexit or oppose it, they tend to evince a decidedly un-British optimism about what leaving the European Union will mean. Often, it seems to begin with the assumption that Britain is still a great power, that the world needs Britain more than Britain needs the world.
One London banker told us that he opposed Brexit. But he expressed what seems to be a common view among remainers, especially those whose livelihoods depend on open borders and trade. The European Union relies too much on the British economy to allow a painful separation, he said, and in the end its member-states will eagerly grant a favorable trading deal.
Should any other issues come up — say, uncertain status for the million or so Brits living elsewhere in Europe — surely the European Union will do whatever it takes to keep London happy.
Maybe so, but this optimism seems at odds with Britain’s reality as Europe’s second-largest economy after Germany, perhaps soon to be third after France.
Britain, many seem to believe, may no longer have the empire. And it may no longer be joined at the hip of the United States in dictating global affairs, as it was in the Cold War. But it doesn’t matter, because it’s still special in a way that guarantees its success.
Owen Paterson, a Conservative lawmaker who joined hardline Brexiteers in unsuccessfully voting to remove Ms. May this week, argued that Britain could succeed without the European Union because, among other reasons, “we occupy the ideal time-zone for global trade.”
It’s difficult to resolve policy disputes over Brexit without addressing these lingering beliefs that Britain is still a major power best served by setting out on its own and dictating terms to a grateful world.
That's a fascinating, and 100% subjective, argument.
