An article written by an overdramatic pessimist who believes Brexit will somehow lead to the dissolution of an entire country.
Uh, sure.
And California might secede, and Moldova might merge with Romania, and there might be nuclear apocalypse…
Many things are possible. Will they happen though?
i dont want to read this
imagine searching for something that is indefinably British and settling on fucking Butlins
>Butlin’s was a reminder that there is still something distinctive about Britain; it could be nowhere else but Britain.
I could’ve told them that. In 10 years time Scotland at least will have left the UK and Northern Ireland probably by 20 years. Wales would take a lot longer but it’s not beyond the realm of possibility which even a few years ago would’ve sounded bizarre
Christ, I bet his wife and kids had a cheery holiday with him in tow.
While I agree with other posts that this is premature and hyperbolic, it is the extreme effect of tribalism over globalization.
The irony, the British (and Dutch) essentially invented globalization, perfected and weaponized by the Americans. And it happens that those are the two countries being hit the hardest by tribalism and protectionism.
So I think it’s possible that Scotland could join the EU, sure, but I am not sure it’s probable at this time. But if tribalism and nationalism continues to infect the core values of the UK, the EU could become a sanctuary for the sane.
>The state had stopped paying attention to the basics of government, whether that was the development of its economy, the protection of its borders, or the defense of the realm. Instead, it had become guilty of a failed elite groupthink that had allowed separatism to flourish, wealth to concentrate in London and its surrounding areas, and the political elite to ignore the public mood.
That’s what happens when you worship laissez-faire capitalism and think the private sector has all the answers, as our governments have done since 1979. Paint the state as useless and wasteful, promote tax cuts to starve it and win votes from the selfish and short-sighted and prove yourself right.
Now we’re left with our Governments shaking a collecting tin painted with the union jack and a picture of the Queen in the faces of any passing billionaires, hoping they’ll drop a few coins in to UK plc and not take out more than they put in.
Tom seems like he’s the life of the parties.
Well written, though gloomy.
I think Tom needs a hug
While some political units like the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, etc., broke apart, Germany reunified. Ultimately, it comes down to prosperity and good governance. Everybody wants to belong to a prosperous well governed country.
Dude reads a great Italian book and gets all bothered.
The only reason why a big, sudden change like Brexit could happen is because it was made by mistake and in a rush. It took *everyone* by surprise. And even something decided so suddenly took a lot of time to actually happen, because there was much resistance.
I don’t believe it’s possible for such other big changes to happen in Europe. Even if Scotland started an independance process, it would take years if not decades to be finally done, and even then it wouldn’t be completely done, because in our modern world you can’t just cut all ties like that.
The way Brexit happened was more of testimony and a reminder of where a grotesque political mistake can lead. It’s saying to politicians everywhere: don’t do stupid referenda that can change the political status of your country on the international scene just because you want an opinion boost. And honestly, I think that such a reminder was needed. Politicians needed to realize that they can’t just do anything foolish as long as they get more votes because of it. I think that it’s one of the reasons why Europe didn’t go full Trumpian with crazy politicians. With Brexit, we’ve seen how foolish, extreme actions can lead a country to stagnation for years, what kind of waste of time and ressources it can be.
As a result, Europe (and the UK) are probably more stable than they used to be. We haven’t let new members join for a long time now, and we reviewed the necessary criteria to do so. There’s a lot of focus on defining further the future of the EU. Even the harshest independantist movement seemingly calmed down. In fact, the current objective in Europe is consolidation, and the danger is stagnation while the rest of the world will move fast. And sadly, all those words of collapse and decline are just distracting us from this reality.
>Could the same be happening to Britain? Was I touring an anachronistic country,
Yes, you were touring anqachronostic country, where even things like building house walls is referred to as some kind of BLACK MAGIC, and polyurethane foam is deemed NOT FLAMMABLE by the authorities.
Pig pens on the continent have usually thicker walls than many houses in the UK, and some are even PLASTERED, unlike the ones in the UK for (sub)-human habitation.
16 comments
*yawn*
An article written by an overdramatic pessimist who believes Brexit will somehow lead to the dissolution of an entire country.
Uh, sure.
And California might secede, and Moldova might merge with Romania, and there might be nuclear apocalypse…
Many things are possible. Will they happen though?
i dont want to read this
imagine searching for something that is indefinably British and settling on fucking Butlins
>Butlin’s was a reminder that there is still something distinctive about Britain; it could be nowhere else but Britain.
I could’ve told them that. In 10 years time Scotland at least will have left the UK and Northern Ireland probably by 20 years. Wales would take a lot longer but it’s not beyond the realm of possibility which even a few years ago would’ve sounded bizarre
Christ, I bet his wife and kids had a cheery holiday with him in tow.
While I agree with other posts that this is premature and hyperbolic, it is the extreme effect of tribalism over globalization.
The irony, the British (and Dutch) essentially invented globalization, perfected and weaponized by the Americans. And it happens that those are the two countries being hit the hardest by tribalism and protectionism.
So I think it’s possible that Scotland could join the EU, sure, but I am not sure it’s probable at this time. But if tribalism and nationalism continues to infect the core values of the UK, the EU could become a sanctuary for the sane.
>The state had stopped paying attention to the basics of government, whether that was the development of its economy, the protection of its borders, or the defense of the realm. Instead, it had become guilty of a failed elite groupthink that had allowed separatism to flourish, wealth to concentrate in London and its surrounding areas, and the political elite to ignore the public mood.
That’s what happens when you worship laissez-faire capitalism and think the private sector has all the answers, as our governments have done since 1979. Paint the state as useless and wasteful, promote tax cuts to starve it and win votes from the selfish and short-sighted and prove yourself right.
Now we’re left with our Governments shaking a collecting tin painted with the union jack and a picture of the Queen in the faces of any passing billionaires, hoping they’ll drop a few coins in to UK plc and not take out more than they put in.
Tom seems like he’s the life of the parties.
Well written, though gloomy.
I think Tom needs a hug
While some political units like the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, etc., broke apart, Germany reunified. Ultimately, it comes down to prosperity and good governance. Everybody wants to belong to a prosperous well governed country.
Dude reads a great Italian book and gets all bothered.
The only reason why a big, sudden change like Brexit could happen is because it was made by mistake and in a rush. It took *everyone* by surprise. And even something decided so suddenly took a lot of time to actually happen, because there was much resistance.
I don’t believe it’s possible for such other big changes to happen in Europe. Even if Scotland started an independance process, it would take years if not decades to be finally done, and even then it wouldn’t be completely done, because in our modern world you can’t just cut all ties like that.
The way Brexit happened was more of testimony and a reminder of where a grotesque political mistake can lead. It’s saying to politicians everywhere: don’t do stupid referenda that can change the political status of your country on the international scene just because you want an opinion boost. And honestly, I think that such a reminder was needed. Politicians needed to realize that they can’t just do anything foolish as long as they get more votes because of it. I think that it’s one of the reasons why Europe didn’t go full Trumpian with crazy politicians. With Brexit, we’ve seen how foolish, extreme actions can lead a country to stagnation for years, what kind of waste of time and ressources it can be.
As a result, Europe (and the UK) are probably more stable than they used to be. We haven’t let new members join for a long time now, and we reviewed the necessary criteria to do so. There’s a lot of focus on defining further the future of the EU. Even the harshest independantist movement seemingly calmed down. In fact, the current objective in Europe is consolidation, and the danger is stagnation while the rest of the world will move fast. And sadly, all those words of collapse and decline are just distracting us from this reality.
>Could the same be happening to Britain? Was I touring an anachronistic country,
Yes, you were touring anqachronostic country, where even things like building house walls is referred to as some kind of BLACK MAGIC, and polyurethane foam is deemed NOT FLAMMABLE by the authorities.
Pig pens on the continent have usually thicker walls than many houses in the UK, and some are even PLASTERED, unlike the ones in the UK for (sub)-human habitation.