Apparently something happened last week in Britain that shook the foundations of mass media and the stock exchange. Pundits are still recovering and trying to figure out if we are facing a business Apocalypse and what this means for Donald Trump's Presidential bid.
They held a referendum on their participation in the European Union, a conglomeration of countries that provide business incentives for companies to do business between countries among other things. The Leave Campaign wasn't considered a serious option, much like the Quebec referendum wasn't considered a real possibility until the final days when polls kept citing it as being too close to call (it ended in a 51-49% split on Quebec staying in Canada. Next thing you know, The Quebec Nordiques left for Colorado where they became the last Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup).
To quote the Clash, the question was... Should They Stay or Should They Go?
In a huge surprise to every business journalist/analyst, the majority of those who voted, voted out. The referendum was considered a small formality, a polite middle finger to the polite social anarchists that wanted Great Britain to pay attention to their own backyard. The business elite felt safe in their glass towers but they failed to account for one thing. - Democracy. The New World Order, the economic Global Village of trading partners and corporations failed to account for one major weakness in their profit margins; too many people were growing up poor in a world that was promised to be better. The promises of jobs, material wealth and safety never materialized as the Top-Down economics of the 80's made for business models that were ultimately responsible only to faceless 'shareholders' and no one else. The bottom line was always profit.
The blow-back was immediate. Stock markets crashed, Gold prices went up. Banking analysts were called into work early to provide sound bites and explain how and why this is a big deal. Great Britain was going to be downgraded to only Okay Britain. The Queen barely survived her 90th birthday extravaganza and was put back in storage before the news hit so at least they still have the Royal Family remaining Britain's number one tourist attraction going for them.
Now, the scariest thing for me to come out of this is that mass media is openly discussing the possibility of re-referendum - citing that 'the people' weren't properly informed of the consequences of opting out of the European Union. Even scarier than the idea of a re-referendum is this article from one of the United State's leading newspapers, The Washington Post.
The title of this article (for those of us who don't like to read article with words like ubiquitous in them) is ;
Does the Brexit vote prove democracies should not use referenda?
First, this headline is unnecessarily confusing. Most likely your first answer was Yes. Then if you re-read the question, you see the 'not' added in there - so maybe your answer is now No but to say 'No, democracies should not use referenda' sounds odd, like Donald Trump, President for Life.
Considering the context and the source, I should add that this is only one opinion in a puddle of opinions of a major newspaper but the consequences of such a thought, if it were to take hold are widespread. A referendum is the the ultimate validation of a democracy. One person, one vote. Winners take all. If the result goes against what the government championed for, should the leader resign? In the case of British PM, David Cameron, the answer was Yes.
The real question posed by that headline is more like' Seeing as Brexit had a direct consequence on the world's trade markets, not only Great Britain's, should a vote on major economic reform be left to the elderly and the angry? Why should they be allowed to vote if they don't even understand what that little ticker on the bottom of the TV is showing?".
Yes, it's a long headline...
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| Totally makes sense to my Gramma |
Now, in a world that wasn't dominated by faceless 'shareholders' the answer is simple. NO. Democracies SHOULD continue to use Refernda. We should have more of them, from a referendum on capping gasoline prices to allowing another Wal-Mart open in the country.
Brexit proved why we have referendums; a democracy is all-inclusive. This wasn't a vote only for business majors, corporate shareholders or bank managers. This was a vote in which everyone could vote. And the majority of those who voted felt that being in the European Union isn't helping them. It was the responsibility of those large companies to prove their participation in the EU had improved their way of life. And for those who didn't vote and are crying for another referendum, that's sour grapes and a lesson for our American neighbours. You are only going to get one chance to elect or defeat Trump or Hillary. Make your choice and live with the consequences. If you don't vote, don't bitch your side didn't win. There will be plenty of conspiracy theorists out there explaining how the voting was rigged. Whoever gets caught cheating less wins.
What those at the top in Great Britain failed to acknowledge is that just because everyone has a cell phone doesn't equate that everyone feels they have a better life. There's still no rocket cars or tickets to Mars. The problems most of society face today are just as bad as two decades ago or worse. That is what their vote is saying. And apparently it's not the youth vote who wanted out. It's the older ones. The ones who might remember a different Britain, a Greater Britain than what it is now. A Britain they want returned to them. They are saying the Global Village experiment didn't work.
There is nothing wrong with feeling nationalistic or patriotic for your country unless it causes fear mongering and racial prejudices. We are encouraged to Buy Local, to take Staycations. In short, we are encouraged to keep the limited amount of money we have in our area, province, country. We are continually told the future is in Small Business but large corporations like Wal-Mart, Religious sects, and Big Banks receive incentives and tax breaks to bring their promise of low-quality goods and low-paying jobs to impoverished areas because any job is better than no job, despite so many reports and debates proving the opposite.
The Brexit sent a clear message to the leaders of every country that when you continually put business profits over people's basic needs, people will revolt. Either peacefully, such as through a referendum or violently, through armed aggression. It's an interesting time to be alive.
And no, Great Britain, you should not be allowed to have 'Do Over'.
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