Brendan O’Neill, editor of spiked, has written that the main conflict over Brexit was not between the U.K. and the EU, but rather a sort of cold civil war between the classes in Britain. Before reading what he believes happened, it is important to keep in mind that Brits are obsessed with social class distinctions and that obsession undoubtedly underlies his analysis.
The strange, unconvincing devotion to the EU that exists in significant sections of the political and chattering classes is directly proportionate to these people’s antagonism towards the idea of the wisdom of the crowd. It suggests that the ‘European issue’ is fundamentally a projection of a national tension — in this case of Britain’s own historically unresolved battle over democracy and power.The EU is largely a projection — a hugely influential projection which over the years has assumed real, tangible and increasingly independent power, but a projection nonetheless. It is a projection of various national governments’ desire to do politics away from their electorates. It is a projection of our own elites’ preference for rule by experts over rule by the masses. It is a projection of one of the central ideological beliefs of the liberal establishments of late 20th-century Britain and other European countries — that this interconnected, troubled world is far too difficult to be understood or dealt with at the local, democratic level.
I believe his analysis applies to the U.S. as well. Substitute “Democrats” for the pro-EU Remain forces, and “Trump-era Republicans” for the Brexit-loving Leavers and see if you’d find much to argue with ... I don’t.
