First thoughts about Brexit: Quos Deus vult perdere, prius dementat

Dear all,

A good many friends and relations, and some friendly strangers, have been kind enough to send J and me their condolences and personal opinions on the disastrous outcome of yesterday’s referendum on whether the UK should turn its back on the European Union.  Several of these have asked for my own views on the matter. Rather than replying separately to each of these (which would take so long that by the time I finished my views might well have changed), I have put some first reactions in a new post on my blog, Ephems, under the heading “First thoughts about Brexit: Quos Deus vult perdere, prius dementat” (translated in the first sentence of the post).  If you’re interested, please just click http://www.barder.com/4702 — and by all means write your comments under it there, not, please, in reply to this email.  But please remember that these are just preliminary reactions, written in anger, bitterness and misery at the demolition, after just a few weeks of largely malevolent and mendacious campaigning by some reprehensible Europhobes, of nearly half a century’s solid work building something approaching a united Europe of which all its members, including Britain, could be justly proud, for all its imperfections and defects, challenges and failures.  Maybe after a few days and weeks of reflection my views on the matter may mellow.  And maybe not.

PS:  Many thanks to those who have recorded their agreement with the article expressing positive enthusiasm for the European Union, written jointly by Owen Barder and myself and published by the Center for Global Development in Washington DC — full text at http://bit.ly/28OLdou.  Pity we didn’t make enough converts with our article to get a different result.  (Fat chance!)

Greetings and commiserations from a pretty solidly pro-EU south London

Brian