Lance Dopestrong wrote:To be utterly fair, I have yet to see an expansive argument to support either camp that bears total scrutiny. People voted whichever way they did because that's simply what they preferred. No one is going to be swayed either way by any kind of argument, because deeply held beliefs are founded upon emotion, not logic, so give up trying. Aside from which, no one's the boss of me - I nor anyone else owe anyone a reason or an argument of any kind, and large tranches of the population need to get over it.
My belief that, on balance, staying in the EU would be better for the UK is not "deeply held". I recognise the many ills of the EU, particularly it's support of neo-liberalism albeit with some (but insufficient) social infrastructure support & provision. My primary reasons for thinking membership is preferable are:
1. A fragmented Europe is likely to return to internecine inter-nation squabbles that were the norm for hundreds of years, culminating in WWI & WWII. WWIII will become more likely. This is especially the case given the likely involvement of other very large power blocks (Russia, USA, China) who will certainly predate upon a fragmented and weakened EUrope.
2. Those promoting the leaving of the EU are largely xenophobic, racist and nationalist in the worst meaning of that term. They are lead by neo-liberals and proto-facists. The UK in the hands of such people will become even worse than it is under the rule of the current rather right-wing Tories.
I believe these are real and present dangers, with plenty of evidence to suggest that they're a very likely outcomes of leaving the EU. That's not to say that staying in the EU will be unproblematic - any future scenario for the world, including the EU, looks bleak. Some possible scenarios look a lot bleaker than others.
Lance Dopestrong wrote:Whether Brexit happens or not, the nation should stop bickering and get fully behind whichever way it goes. If we don't, then whether we stay in or leave, we will ultimately fail. Brexit isn't causing upheaval - the behaviour of people is causing upheaval, whether they be currency speculators, politicians, or simple ordinary people who would rather watch their houses burn than accept help from someone with whom they just happen to disagree.
I have no intention of helping the likes of Boris, Mogg, Farago and similar into power. They will ruin the lives of a vast majority of UK citizens and may even fragment the UK itself. There would be no holding them back in their dark desires - not a chance of finding any acceptable compromise that would protect not just the currenly weak and vulnerable but the great majority of the population. To me they look like totalitarians who will, once they have power, countenance no opposition.
Cugel
“Practical men who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence are usually the slaves of some defunct economist”.
John Maynard Keynes