Tuesday 12 July 2016

The Short-Sighted Revenge of the 'Dumb' Masses

A few weeks ago the UK woke up to the news that the EU referendum was won by the supporters of Britain leaving the EU by a slim margin – 52% to 48%. This quickly proved to be shocking news both for Britain and Europe, and the whole world, after all. Feeling that victory is inevitable, the Remain camp felt confident. And here this confidence proved unfounded as the very few prominent Leave campaigners cheered. The UK woke up and anger, disbelief and uncertainty prevailed, especially across the world of celebrities and pop stars. The markets responded as well with a dazzling fall for the pound shares. PM David Cameron added some fuel to the fire with breaking his promise not to resign, albeit on a condition that the new PM would be announced later on. As the Tories threw themselves right in the middle of a brutal leadership competition, a long-awaited mutiny took place in Labour as well. So, what can be said of this, as pundits claim, historic event, the UK deciding to leave the European Union? Embittered Remainers lament the future of the young and of Britain itself and desperately call for a second referendum, while the less notable Leavers cheer at their supposed victory in gaining independence for the UK, though much of what pro-Brexit campaigners have offered to the public, has since been discarded by themselves. How we should view the results and the aftermath of the referendum and what lesson do these events teach us all, including people in other European countries? This I will try to answer in my short essay.

Reading the papers and various internet sites after the results of the referendum had been announced made me wonder about a rather fringe topic in the general discussions, namely the class and mentality divisions that were brought to the fore by the fierce discussions and comments from devastated Remainers. As the Glastonbury festival went ahead, musicians whom I knew and whom I have never heard of (or just happen to know their names) stormed social media to lament the result of the referendum. Things said included a wish for the selfish old, who voted Leave and robbed the young of their future, to die off already, shaming of ‘Mondeo driving bigots’, calling opponents racists and xenophobes and generally decrying the result as a win for the selfish, the self-serving, the narrow-minded, old white Englishmen. To set the record straight, having followed the campaign for a long time, I myself would have voted, was I a British citizen, to Remain. Later I will try to explain my position but now it will suffice to say that despite my general sentiment that the EU must be repaired and fixed, not dismantled, I feel the Remain campaign was as shameful as the often racist and xenophobic, often lying Leave campaign. The ideas brought up by the Glastonbury festival and its participants warrant attention. Compassion and conscious consumption were named as the tenets of the ‘us’ it stood for. Fears of unrestrained migration and a lack of democracy were broadly attacked, not addressed, as racist, selfish, backwards-thinking remarks from self-serving and bigoted ‘little Englanders’. The Remain campaign, in my opinion signed its own death warrant because the cause of staying in the EU was promoted with scaremongering and name-calling, and advocates campaigning for Remain tended to be millionaires and ‘experts’. All this played into the hands of the anti-Establishment sentiment, evident on the side of those who voted Leave. The wish to kick the Tories, kick Cameron and kick the Establishment, the City, the banksters, the system was what led Leave to victory. And Remain only help to maintain this sentiment by promoting the image of young, diverse, vibrant and hipster Britain, who loves refugees for the sake of loving them, who consume consciously and have learned the latest updated vocabulary of political correctness, who are compassionate and empathetic and open-minded, successful and smiling, competent and qualified, so that the less better off, unemployed, old, forgotten, hopeless, embittered and discontent with the Government and with the system in general would even better realize how unwanted they are, how useless and not cared for they are. The resentment felt in England, in the communities that are left behind and forgotten resulted in a basic understanding that the only way to kick the Establishment is to vote Leave. Why? Not only because immigration is a big problem for many, but because Cameron says to vote Remain, because Remain is all about the young, the better off, the successful, the ones who have some perspective in this life, thus people apparently thought this is the way to punish them for ignoring the voters, ignoring the poor, the discontented, the old. The whinnying that followed after the results were announced, the childish demands for a second referendum, backed by the likes of Thom Yorke and Jarvis Cocker, only proved these points. I bet a second referendum might have ended with a similar result if not with a bigger win for Leave. The ones who wanted to be heard, again were shouted down and ridiculed as those who would better be dead or who are bigots, backwards-minded and so on. The mentality that was exhibited by the Remain campaign accentuated the stark differences of class and ideology that defined the campaign, as the Leave camp was ridiculed as clowns and xenophobes and those who voted Leave later being described in purely classist terms as, to put it simply, the vengeful poor old people, stealing the future from the millenials (whatever that means) and consigning the UK to the rubbish bin of history, leaving it on the fringe of world politics. This, I believe, was a huge mistake. The Remain camp made grave mistakes by appealing to scaremongering and presenting any potential Leave voters as worthless scum. The embittered masses have fought back and what has followed the result must have even further emboldened them. Some, indeed, were emboldened way too much. But the divisions not only between Scotland and England, but divisions based on age and on class have proved important and have been worsened by the result. The gap between the anti-Establishment working class people and the middle class young professionals, aspiring to live in a compassionate and open-minded world was widened and both sides bear responsibility for that, but the Remain camp has especially been good at digging its own grave with sneers at everyone who is not as optimistic about the EU as they are. This proved a dreadful tactic. However, sadly, no signs of remorse have been showed.

So, telling Leavers that they were wrong does not help. The mistake they have made – having kicked themselves as well as the Establishment – might be realised sooner or later, but the general sentiment will prevail. Because there is no viable alternative to it. People who find themselves amongst the out-dated and outmoded crowd that is wary of immigrants, wary of ‘openness’, wary of political correctness and identity politics have to either go all right wing as if to prove their opponents right about themselves, or they need a true alternative. An alternative, as I would like to argue, that the Left has not provided. The results of the referendum highlight the tension in society that is not restricted to the UK, far from it. It is widespread and dangerous. The alternative to the open-minded and politically correct neoliberalism is a kind of stripped-down neoliberalism with values. The brutal and frank capitalism, exhibited in the rhetoric of Donald Trump, in the appeal to values and national pride that marks Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan. This kind of honest politics, based on fear of the Other, on emotion, anger and paranoia is gaining ground throughout Europe and in America. Make no mistake, it is far from revolutionary – the capital transactions still take place anyway… The difference is in attitude, in the way this system does not bother to present itself with a veneer of ‘progressive’ politics, with a veil of compassion and empathy that has long become the mark of mealy-mouthed and hollow leftist politicians. It tells people ‘You have been fooled by these pricks, their words are empty, this is not how the world works’. People nod in approval. The silence on certain matters, the toe-curling inability to be honest and down to Earth of mainstream politics has reached such a point that the voters sigh with deep relief when hearing an honest and unapologetic Trump. The fact that he is not just politically incorrect but simply impolite and rude, a person who enjoys bullying with a sadist’s lust does not alert the voters. This speaks volumes of the overall quality of discourse in politics. The detached and patronizing, condescending and predictable mainstream politicians have pissed off the society to an extent that even a raving lunatic looks better to people. Their desire to hear honest and anti-elitist politicians makes them an easy target for bullying and manipulating right wing types. The working class and disenfranchised masses think such prophets of brutal capitalism will help them through with their problems. Of course they are wrong, but the more the leftist liberals relax in their ivory towers, the bigger the chances that right wingers appealing to the low instincts of the forgotten and the embittered will gain grounds. 

The problem with Britain leaving the EU is that it is a clear symptom of a rotting political system. As Slavoj Zizek noticed, we live in a post-political system that tends to sneer at old definitions of ‘Left’ and ‘Right’, ‘true’ and ‘false’, ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, instead opting for a practical, pragmatic and effective outlook. Politics have been consistently drained of any meaning, any beliefs, any ideology. Instead we are served an expert-led government that concentrates on efficiency and positive thinking. We should be optimistic, as we allow ourselves to be governed by experts, by people holding no views or beliefs other than the utilitarian and the practical outlook of a tradesman. Issues such as human rights, poverty and climate change again are presented as not ideological, but practical. Homophobia is bad because it does not pay off. Politics being based on rational calculations made by experts and non-politicians, everything else in this life has been subsumed by emotion. The laments of celebrities after the results of the referendum had been announced are a good example. The lure of right wing neoliberalism with values is that it focuses on the core aspects of a market economy and instead of the high-brow attitude of leftist liberals who feel like being responsible for all the world's woes, they give people an appealing alternative – deriding everyone around, blaming others and circle-jerking around ‘national identity’, ‘national pride’, ‘tradition’; it is designed for those tired of forcefully smiling at customers, tired of playing the role of a concerned citizen of the World, for those wishing for something more brutal and frank. The post-political system did not take away the need of people to appeal to values and customs, identities and ideology. Whilst it tried to peddle cheap mass-produced substitutes, such as identity politics and positive psychology, it is at a loss here. What people across the world are being offered is honest and understandable politics, based on principles such as ‘Might is right’ and on a general disregard for politeness and good taste. Putin, Trump, Erdogan, the PM of Hungary Viktor Orbán and leaders of far-right parties across Europe talk straight and expose the elites for what they are, pointing out their arrogance and hypocrisy. Underneath it all we still find capitalism and the right wingers hardly bring whatever change they argue for. The comment made by the Polish Minister Witold Waszczykowski is worth attention. He named the enemies of the right wing government as ‘vegetarians’, ‘cyclists’, those who use ‘renewable energy’ and want to ‘mix all the nationalities and races’. Painting such a vivid picture, he appealed to the fear and misunderstandings prevalent among the working class that generally gets looked down by the political elites. And in the end this government seeks to cut down one of the last primeval forests in Europe simply because they want to do it. This points at a future, for which the Leave campaign fought – no more regard for ‘European regulations’, just brutal management.

What is the future of Europe in the face of ‘Brexit’ and a patent rise in unapologetic bigotry and opposition to the post-political consensus peddled by the Establishment? I fail to imagine an EU falling apart. The blow dealt to the Brussels Establishment was huge but not a knock-out. Nation states like Poland, Hungary, Slovakia or the Czech Republic may indulge in nationalist and far-right sentiments but the money that keeps flowing from the EU in various ways does not allow them to seriously consider leaving the union. Fear of ‘cultural Marxism’ or ‘cyclists and vegetarians’ might continue to rise but the pragmatic nature of neoliberalism with values does not allow them a way out of the EU as the masses that hate it will hardly cheer at the result of leaving it even in short term. Countries that sneer at their Eastern neighbours exactly for what those are grateful to the EU – money flowing their way and migrant workers in Western European countries – might wish to leave but the Establishment is still well-equipped and strong enough to hold the tide back. Uncertainty might outweigh nationalism and fear of migrants. Of course, the refugee crisis might add fuel but I would imagine the EU making concessions to avoid further damage. Too much money and too much bureaucracy is there to be made redundant for the union to give up so easily. However, the disenchanted masses need to be contented one way or another, especially in the face of ‘Brexit’. Will the Establishment and the leftist liberals learn? Sadly, I do not see any perspective in waiting for this. The urge to get rid of Jeremy Corbyn that sends the right of Labour into trepidation is yet another sign of this.

So, the UK leaving the EU may have made a fatal mistake, but the Establisment and supercilious leftist liberals making up the most conspicuos part of the Remain campaign have paved the way for it. Embittered with the elites, the working class, the forgotten, the unwanted and the useless fought back albeit in a self-harming way. Regaining control might simply mean closing yourself in a prison cell and kindly handing the keys to a Tory or to a Ukipper. Instead of hypocritical leftist liberal empathy they will receive honest, frank, direct and brutal Thatcherism. Hardly a good bargain, yet it proves to what extent did mainstream politics lose touch with the real world, so that it has become a key market of manipulators and bullies from the far-right. While the Establishment and left-leaning media are clueless as to how could have the tamed and allegedly contented voter turned into a jeering bully, supporting Trump, Farage, Boris Johnson and others, the voters are equally clueless in their choice of a rich and loud-mouthed manipulator and liar. They miss the point that this is not as much as an alternative to the current system, as a new way of contenting the society – this time with hate and rudeness. Apathetic voters cheer at the site of a shouting foam at the mouth bigot. They have learned the biggest lesson of the market economy – one needs to care for image, not substance. Liars and tycoons play such people like a fiddle and as long as anger is vented and previously ducked questions and being addressed in a direct and ‘understandable’ manner, people feel alright. The Remain campaign tried to frighten those who feel like they have nothing to lose. It is not pragmatic questions, but an appeal to reason, showing the true colours of Leave that should have been made, addressing issues and discussing them honestly, but all this needs an alternative that the Left does not have. And so we are left with two brands of neoliberalism, the more cheesy and hipster one, for the upper-class people and the brutally honest capitalism with values, with nationalism, with ‘dignity’, and the Remain loss show the power the manipulative and brutal version has gained over the years of post-political pragmatics. After all, significant change in tone and reasoning needs to occur before a change of heart could take place amongst the embittered masses that sadomasochistically dragged the UK out.