Brexit and the New Global Rebellion
Published on
Friday, June 24, 2016
by
Campaign for America's Future Blog
Brexit and the New Global Rebellion
by
Richard Eskow
Boris Johnson is tipped as the next Prime Minister as British voters opt for
Brexit. (Photo: PA wire)
Things are changing. A major crack has appeared in the edifice of
globalization, and the neoliberal order that has dominated the world's
economy since the end of World War II is now in danger.
That's not necessarily a bad thing, by any means. But poisonous weeds are
just as likely as green shoots to grow up through those cracks. To
paraphrase John F. Kennedy: Those who make constructive evolution impossible
may be making destructive devolution inevitable.
We now know that Great Britain, itself an amalgam of older nations, is
divided. England and Wales voted to leave Europe, while Scotland, Northern
Ireland, and ethnically diverse London voted to remain.
This vote was a stunning rejection of Great Britain's political
establishment. "Leave" prevailed despite opposition from all three major
political parties. Prime Minister David Cameron, who will now step down,
called on voters to "Remain." So did socialist Jeremy Corbyn, the most
left-wing Labor leader in a generation. Barack Obama crossed the Atlantic to
stand beside Cameron and offer his support.
Voters rejected all of them.
The uprising has begun. The question now is, who will lead it going forward?
Globalism's Shadow Self
The world's financial and political elites must now face the fact that
resistance to their economic order, which has shaped the world since the
Bretton Woods conference of 1944, is a major phenomenon. These elites are
apparently more out of touch with the citizens of the industrialized world
than at any time in modern memory.
Make no mistake: The "Leave" vote was a rejection of globalization, at least
as it's currently structured. This was a revolt of working class Britons who
have seen their postwar prosperity erode around them and their social
contract eviscerated by the corporate and financial oligarchy.
But it was also the sign of a darker and more sinister worldwide phenomenon:
the resurgence of global nativism and xenophobia. This worldwide turn toward
fear of the Other is globalization's shadow self.
Revolt of the Powerless
That's not to say that there wasn't a legitimate left-wing case to be made
for leaving the European Union. The "Left Leave" movement, or #Lexit, had
its own advocates. "Why cling to this reactionary institution?" asked one.
But this near-victory wasn't won with leftist arguments about resisting the
global oligarchy. The left was too divided to make that case clearly or
forcefully. It was largely won by stirring up bigotry against immigrants,
cloaked in flimsy arguments about excessive regulation. Legitimate economic
grievances were channeled into nationalist hostility.
Many "Leave" voters felt powerless, that they no longer had much of a say in
their own destinies. They weren't wrong. The European Union was largely a
creation of transnational financial forces driven by a self-serving
neoliberal ideology of "free" markets, privatization, and corporate economic
governance.
But ,even at its worst, the EU is a symptom and not a cause. Great Britain's
citizens haven't been losing control over their fate to the EU. They've been
losing it because their own country's leaders - as well as those of most
other Western democracies - are increasingly in thrall to corporate and
financial interests.
The British people have lost more sovereignty to trade deals like NAFTA and
the TPP then they could have ever surrendered to the European Union. Their
democratic rights are trampled daily, not by faceless EU bureaucrats, but by
the powerful financial interests that dominate their politics and their
economy.
Low Information Voters
This vote won't help the middle class. British workers will no longer be
guaranteed the worker rights that come with EU membership. British
corporations will be less regulated, which means more environmental damage
and more mistreatment of employees and customers. They will not, in the
words of William Blake, "build Jerusalem in England's green and pleasant
land."
Most "Leave" voters probablydon't know that, because the media failed them
too. Instead of being given a balanced understanding of EU membership's
advantages and disadvantages, the British people were fed a constant diet of
terror fears and trivial anti-government anecdotes meant to reinforce the
notion that EU was needlessly and absurdly bureaucratic.
As Martin Fletcher explains, Boris Johnson played a key role in degrading
the performance of Britain's corporate press back in his days as a
journalist. Other outlets were all to eager to mimic his anti-government and
anti-Europe stereotypes. And now? It's as if Sean Hannity's deceptive
sensationalism had made him a top presidential prospect.
Johnson and UKIP leader Nigel Farage played the same role in the Leave
campaign that Donald Trump is playing in US politics. Like Trump, they have
used economic fears to stoke the anti-immigrant fear and hatred that is
their real stock in trade. Their slogan might just as well have been "Make
England Great Again."
The campaign's fearmongering and hate has already claimed a victim in Jo
Cox, the Labor MP who was violently martyred by a white British racist.
Tellingly, her murder was not described as an act of terrorism, which it
clearly was. The decision to restrict the "terrorist" label to Muslims, in
Great Britain as in the United States, feeds precisely the kind of hatred
that fuels movements like these.
Great Britain's immigrant population grew by 4.5 million under EU
membership. But in a just economy, that would lead to growth for the
existing middle class. Britain's immigrants didn't wound that country's
middle class. They're scapegoats for rising inequality and the punishing
austerity of the conservative regime.
Aftershock
What happens next? Markets are already reacting, retrenching in anticipation
of new trade barriers and political uncertainty.
Before the voting, estimates of a Leave vote's effect on Britain's economy
ranged from "negative" to outright "calamitous." The outcome will probably
fall somewhere between the two.
Will the reprehensible Mr. Johnson, who pushed aggressively for Brexit, now
lead his party -perhaps even his country? How much will this boost UKIP? By
rejecting the EU, will Great Britain soon experience even harsher economic
austerity measures than Cameron's?
Scotland may once again pursue independence so that it can rejoin Europe.
Sinn Fein is calling again for the reunification of Ireland. Suddenly
anything seems possible.
There are already calls for a similar referendum in France.
British workers are likely to be worse off without EU protections,
especially if the far right prevails in future elections as the result of
this vote.
Trade deals will need to be negotiated between Britain and the EU, along
with the terms of separation. Judging by its behavior toward Greece, Germany
prefers to punish any nation impertinent enough to try guiding its own
economic destiny. These negotiations won't be pleasant.
The New Resistance
The current order is unstable. The uprising has begun. But who will lead it?
All over the world there are Boris Johnsons and Nigel Farages poised to
capitalize on the chaos. The US has Trump, who was quick to tie himself to
the vote. Greece has Golden Dawn. Germany has the far-right, anti-immigrant
AfD party. Scandinavia has the Sweden Democrat Party and the Danish People's
Party. Hungary's ruling Fidesz party, itself nationalistic and totalitarian
by nature, is in danger of being outdone by the racist and anti-Semitic
Jobbik party.
Hungary is already building a Trump-like wall, in fact, a barb-wired fence
meant to keep Syrian refugees out of the country and Jobbik out of political
power.
There is also also a growing democratic counterforce, poised to resist both
the global elites and the nationalist bigots. It includes Syriza in Greece,
Podemos in Spain, and the Corbyn movement in Great Britain (although
Corbyn's fate is unclear in the wake of this vote). In the US it has been
seen in both the Occupy movement and, more recently, in the newly resurgent
left inspired by Bernie Sanders' campaign.
The global financial order is fracturing. But will it fall? It's powerful
and well organized. Even if it does, what will replace it: a more humane
global order, or a world torn by nationalism and hate? Should these new
parties and factions form a transnational movement?
That's the goal of economist Yanis Varoufakis, among others. Varoufakis
confronted the EU's economic leadership directly when he negotiated with
them as Greece's first Finance Minister under Syriza. They prevailed, and
Varoufakis is now a private citizen.
The Greeks chose economic autonomy when they voted for Syriza. They didn't
get it. The British aren't likely to get what they want from this vote
either. No matter what happens, British citizens will still be in thrall to
corporate financial forces - forces that can rewrite the rules they go
along.
Greece's fate has been a cautionary tale for the world, a powerful
illustration of the need for worldwide coordinated resistance to today's
economic and political elites. We can vote. But without economic autonomy,
we aren't truly free. In the months and years to come, the people of Great
Britain are likely to learn the truth: We are all Greece now.
The question is, what do we do now?
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
License.
Richard Eskow
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Brexit and the New Global Rebellion
Published on
Friday, June 24, 2016
by
Campaign for America's Future Blog
Brexit and the New Global Rebellion
by
Richard Eskow
. 12 Comments
.
. Boris Johnson is tipped as the next Prime Minister as British voters
opt for Brexit. (Photo: PA wire)
. Things are changing. A major crack has appeared in the edifice of
globalization, and the neoliberal order that has dominated the world's
economy since the end of World War II is now in danger.
. That's not necessarily a bad thing, by any means. But poisonous
weeds are just as likely as green shoots to grow up through those cracks. To
paraphrase John F. Kennedy: Those who make constructive evolution impossible
may be making destructive devolution inevitable.
. We now know that Great Britain, itself an amalgam of older nations,
is divided. England and Wales voted to leave Europe, while Scotland,
Northern Ireland, and ethnically diverse London voted to remain.
. This vote was a stunning rejection of Great Britain's political
establishment. "Leave" prevailed despite opposition from all three major
political parties. Prime Minister David Cameron, who will now step down,
called on voters to "Remain." So did socialist Jeremy Corbyn, the most
left-wing Labor leader in a generation. Barack Obama crossed the Atlantic to
stand beside Cameron and offer his support.
Voters rejected all of them.
The uprising has begun. The question now is, who will lead it going forward?
https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/myj16-articlehttps://secure.actbl
ue.com/contribute/page/myj16-article
Globalism's Shadow Self
The world's financial and political elites must now face the fact that
resistance to their economic order, which has shaped the world since the
Bretton Woods conference of 1944, is a major phenomenon. These elites are
apparently more out of touch with the citizens of the industrialized world
than at any time in modern memory.
Make no mistake: The "Leave" vote was a rejection of globalization, at least
as it's currently structured. This was a revolt of working class Britons who
have seen their postwar prosperity erode around them and their social
contract eviscerated by the corporate and financial oligarchy.
But it was also the sign of a darker and more sinister worldwide phenomenon:
the resurgence of global nativism and xenophobia. This worldwide turn toward
fear of the Other is globalization's shadow self.
Revolt of the Powerless
That's not to say that there wasn't a legitimate left-wing case to be made
for leaving the European Union. The "Left Leave" movement, or #Lexit, had
its own advocates. "Why cling to this reactionary institution?" asked one.
But this near-victory wasn't won with leftist arguments about resisting the
global oligarchy. The left was too divided to make that case clearly or
forcefully. It was largely won by stirring up bigotry against immigrants,
cloaked in flimsy arguments about excessive regulation. Legitimate economic
grievances were channeled into nationalist hostility.
Many "Leave" voters felt powerless, that they no longer had much of a say in
their own destinies. They weren't wrong. The European Union was largely a
creation of transnational financial forces driven by a self-serving
neoliberal ideology of "free" markets, privatization, and corporate economic
governance.
But ,even at its worst, the EU is a symptom and not a cause. Great Britain's
citizens haven't been losing control over their fate to the EU. They've been
losing it because their own country's leaders - as well as those of most
other Western democracies - are increasingly in thrall to corporate and
financial interests.
The British people have lost more sovereignty to trade deals like NAFTA and
the TPP then they could have ever surrendered to the European Union. Their
democratic rights are trampled daily, not by faceless EU bureaucrats, but by
the powerful financial interests that dominate their politics and their
economy.
Low Information Voters
This vote won't help the middle class. British workers will no longer be
guaranteed the worker rights that come with EU membership. British
corporations will be less regulated, which means more environmental damage
and more mistreatment of employees and customers. They will not, in the
words of William Blake, "build Jerusalem in England's green and pleasant
land."
Most "Leave" voters probablydon't know that, because the media failed them
too. Instead of being given a balanced understanding of EU membership's
advantages and disadvantages, the British people were fed a constant diet of
terror fears and trivial anti-government anecdotes meant to reinforce the
notion that EU was needlessly and absurdly bureaucratic.
As Martin Fletcher explains, Boris Johnson played a key role in degrading
the performance of Britain's corporate press back in his days as a
journalist. Other outlets were all to eager to mimic his anti-government and
anti-Europe stereotypes. And now? It's as if Sean Hannity's deceptive
sensationalism had made him a top presidential prospect.
Johnson and UKIP leader Nigel Farage played the same role in the Leave
campaign that Donald Trump is playing in US politics. Like Trump, they have
used economic fears to stoke the anti-immigrant fear and hatred that is
their real stock in trade. Their slogan might just as well have been "Make
England Great Again."
The campaign's fearmongering and hate has already claimed a victim in Jo
Cox, the Labor MP who was violently martyred by a white British racist.
Tellingly, her murder was not described as an act of terrorism, which it
clearly was. The decision to restrict the "terrorist" label to Muslims, in
Great Britain as in the United States, feeds precisely the kind of hatred
that fuels movements like these.
Great Britain's immigrant population grew by 4.5 million under EU
membership. But in a just economy, that would lead to growth for the
existing middle class. Britain's immigrants didn't wound that country's
middle class. They're scapegoats for rising inequality and the punishing
austerity of the conservative regime.
Aftershock
What happens next? Markets are already reacting, retrenching in anticipation
of new trade barriers and political uncertainty.
Before the voting, estimates of a Leave vote's effect on Britain's economy
ranged from "negative" to outright "calamitous." The outcome will probably
fall somewhere between the two.
Will the reprehensible Mr. Johnson, who pushed aggressively for Brexit, now
lead his party -perhaps even his country? How much will this boost UKIP? By
rejecting the EU, will Great Britain soon experience even harsher economic
austerity measures than Cameron's?
Scotland may once again pursue independence so that it can rejoin Europe.
Sinn Fein is calling again for the reunification of Ireland. Suddenly
anything seems possible.
There are already calls for a similar referendum in France.
British workers are likely to be worse off without EU protections,
especially if the far right prevails in future elections as the result of
this vote.
Trade deals will need to be negotiated between Britain and the EU, along
with the terms of separation. Judging by its behavior toward Greece, Germany
prefers to punish any nation impertinent enough to try guiding its own
economic destiny. These negotiations won't be pleasant.
The New Resistance
The current order is unstable. The uprising has begun. But who will lead it?
All over the world there are Boris Johnsons and Nigel Farages poised to
capitalize on the chaos. The US has Trump, who was quick to tie himself to
the vote. Greece has Golden Dawn. Germany has the far-right, anti-immigrant
AfD party. Scandinavia has the Sweden Democrat Party and the Danish People's
Party. Hungary's ruling Fidesz party, itself nationalistic and totalitarian
by nature, is in danger of being outdone by the racist and anti-Semitic
Jobbik party.
Hungary is already building a Trump-like wall, in fact, a barb-wired fence
meant to keep Syrian refugees out of the country and Jobbik out of political
power.
There is also also a growing democratic counterforce, poised to resist both
the global elites and the nationalist bigots. It includes Syriza in Greece,
Podemos in Spain, and the Corbyn movement in Great Britain (although
Corbyn's fate is unclear in the wake of this vote). In the US it has been
seen in both the Occupy movement and, more recently, in the newly resurgent
left inspired by Bernie Sanders' campaign.
The global financial order is fracturing. But will it fall? It's powerful
and well organized. Even if it does, what will replace it: a more humane
global order, or a world torn by nationalism and hate? Should these new
parties and factions form a transnational movement?
That's the goal of economist Yanis Varoufakis, among others. Varoufakis
confronted the EU's economic leadership directly when he negotiated with
them as Greece's first Finance Minister under Syriza. They prevailed, and
Varoufakis is now a private citizen.
The Greeks chose economic autonomy when they voted for Syriza. They didn't
get it. The British aren't likely to get what they want from this vote
either. No matter what happens, British citizens will still be in thrall to
corporate financial forces - forces that can rewrite the rules they go
along.
Greece's fate has been a cautionary tale for the world, a powerful
illustration of the need for worldwide coordinated resistance to today's
economic and political elites. We can vote. But without economic autonomy,
we aren't truly free. In the months and years to come, the people of Great
Britain are likely to learn the truth: We are all Greece now.
The question is, what do we do now?
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
License.
