UK Politics

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How Brexit, a Startling Act of Economic Self-Harm, Foreshadowed Trump’s Tariffs (www.nytimes.com)

submitted 1 week ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I found this article interesting. Here are some quotes:

Brexit’s backers sold the project as a magic bullet that would solve the problems caused by a globalizing economy — not unlike Mr. Trump’s claims that tariffs would be a boon to the public purse and a remedy for the inequities of global trade. In neither case, experts said, does such a panacea exist.

“The truth is, Brexit did not correct any of the problems caused by deindustrialization,” said Tony Travers, a professor of politics at the London School of Economics. “If anything, Brexit made them worse.”

Mr. Trump’s MAGA coalition has some of the same ideological fault lines as the Brexiteers, pitting economic nationalists like Stephen K. Bannon against globalists like Elon Musk. That has led analysts to wonder if post-Trump politics in the United States will look a lot like post-Brexit politics in Britain.

“Brexit caused profound damage to the Conservative Party,” Professor Travers said. “It has been rendered unelectable because it is riven by factions. Will the Republican Party be similarly factionalized after Trump?”

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago (2 children)

What you're saying is that to beat the populists, you have to pretend to take the voting morons as seriously as the populists do. And yeah, I get it, it's the least terrible stragegy really. But beyond the facade, those with an education and a working brain really dislike having to fake respect for those who don't deserve any.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

Pretending probably isn't enough. If a political movement (such as a centrist or pro-Europe movement) wants to win then it has to take all voters seriously, surely. Or at least as many as possible.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Do you think prisoners deserve any respect? Or do you think they are victims of genetics, bad luck, upbringing etc?

I am not sure where to draw the line for free-will or even if it exists.

We need a better public education system but that isn't going to solve much in our lifetime.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I am not sure where to draw the line for free-will or even if it exists.

You know a moron who shouldn't vote when you see one. It doesn't matter if they're victims of bad genes or bad upbringing: some people just aren't fit to decide important things. In fact, I'd argue a majority of the population isn't.

But you hit the nail on the head: where do you draw the line?

In this case, where is that hypothetical line that decides those who are "good enough" to votes and those who aren't?

Of course, it's impossible to make the distinction because the decision is almost completely arbitrary. There is no well-established, proven set of scientific criteria to decide whether a human being is worthy of the right to vote.

So we do the next best thing: we let everyone vote. That's democracy. We let everyone vote because not letting everyone vote is always worse. But that doesn't mean it doesn't make me retch when I see a cretin in a MAGA hat who doesn't even know basic history, geography or civics proudly tell you on TV that he voted Trump because Trump'll fix it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Here in Australia the Left overwhelmingly is kept that we have compulsory voting.

I however think it would not be so difficult to have a civics test before citizens are given licence to vote. We do it with driving after all.

basic history, geography or civics

Or science (vaccines, climate change, statistics). Better education at school would definitely help. Half of USAmericans cannot read being 6th grade level. A quarter don't know we orbit the sun. 40% didn't know how long it takes a year to orbit the sun.