What can the rest of the “free world” learn from Trump and Brexit?

A nationalist is one who thinks solely, or mainly, in terms of competitive prestige. He may be a positive or a negative nationalist – that is, he may use his mental energy either in boosting or in denigrating – but at any rate his thoughts always turn on victories, defeats, triumphs, and humiliations. He sees history, especially contemporary history, as the endless rise and decline of great power units, and every event that happens seems to him a demonstration that his own side is on the up-grade and some hated rival on the down-grade. But finally, it is important not to confuse nationalism with mere worship of success. The nationalist does not go on the principle of simply ganging up with the strongest side. On the contrary, having picked his side, he persuades himself that it is the strongest, and is able to stick to his belief even when the facts are overwhelmingly against him. Nationalism is power hunger tempered by self-deception. Every nationalist is capable of the most flagrant dishonesty, but he is also – since he is conscious of serving something bigger than himself – unshakeably certain of being in the right.

One of the reasons I and so many others love the writing of George Orwell is his unshakeable instinct for what was coming next, how people think and why they think that way. As a big fan of Orwell’s novels, I recently took out The Penguin Essays of George Orwell from Sussex’s library, just to dip into. What’s most striking about Orwell’s writing is its ability to transcend generations, in the sense that what he wrote in the 1930s and 40s are as relevant today as they were when he wrote them. After a fairly restless night waiting for the results of the US election, I thought I’d take a look at Orwell’s essay on nationalism. His descriptions of ‘the endless rise and decline of great power units’ strongly echo Trump’s campaign slogan of ‘Make America great again’. It almost seems as though Orwell is describing the incoming president when he says a nationalist is ‘able to stick to his belief even when the facts are overwhelmingly against him’, despite the fact that the essay was published the year before Trump was even born. Without wishing to state the obvious, Orwell couldn’t see into the future. Rather, he had a distinctive ability to make judgements about human nature, some of which have manifested themselves in many world events, not least in this election. What part of human nature has been seized by Trump and can account for his success? A success which, one has to admit, has been absolutely huge and unprecedented. 

 

The most sobering part of Trump’s election was not the fact that he was able to win. Although he is rightly the focus of virtually every news outlet in the world right now, it would be naïve to assume that this begins and ends with Trump. The whole campaign is part of something much bigger than Trump or America. It has spread throughout the West; Brexit and Trump’s presidency, I fear, are just the beginning. It’s clear that the amount of disenchantment with the way the West is moving is incredibly significant. People feel left behind by globalisation, aggravated by a multiculturalist agenda they had no say in. It’s far too easy to call these people racist, close-minded or backward. In fact, not only is it too easy, it’s politically suicidal. If one thing is clearly demonstrated by both Brexit and Trump’s election, it’s that when you accuse people of having racist or xenophobic motivations, they are more likely to reaffirm their own views in a kind of defiance against the establishment. So it is the responsibility of all of us to assure that we stand up for what’s positive about our own beliefs, not negative about someone else’s. By this I mean we focus on why we are pro-choice, in favour of gun control and gay marriage, concerned by climate change, believe that refugees need to be treated like human beings and not numbers. 

Other European nations have big choices to make in upcoming elections. France can choose to dissolve the European Union by the choices they make at the ballot box. In order to avoid this, the pro-European French media and political left need to champion what’s positive about immigration, the EU and increased integration. If it chooses the path of negativity, another backlash of the Brexit/Trump kind could happen, the domino effect will continue with significant consequences for the future of Europe and the West.  

Reflections on Brexit

Picture the scene. I'm lying on my bed in an apartment in Valladolid, Spain, watching the breaking news about the EU referendum on my phone. It's 11pm in Spain and BBC News are predicting a comfortable victory for Remain. Even Nigel Farage has admitted defeat. Phew, I thought; the country has come to its senses and decided to stay part of the largest single market in the world and a group of progressive co-operative nations. I could sleep in peace.

Fast forward about 5 hours. I'm half awake, and pick up my phone from my bedside table and through bleary eyes see a 'UK votes to leave EU' headline from the BBC. How could this have happened? Disappointed, disheartened, I can't get back to sleep before my alarm goes off at 7am. I'm in Spain for a language course. After getting to graduate level in French and German, I wanted to learn some Spanish - or rather, continue the language after learning some basics whilst in Germany. I got a scholarship from the Fundación de la Lengua Espanola to study in Valladolid for two weeks. The first week was fun - especially after England beating Wales in the Euros and receiving my degree results. The second week - punctured by Brexit and England's Euro misery (it seems we're good at leaving Europe in more than one sense) - was just as memorable.

Let me put forward why Brexit means so much to me personally. I am not an economist - if I'm honest, I don't know whether leaving the EU would be good or bad for the economy, though I would suspect bad. I'm a linguist, a student of culture. I received my grade for a BA in Languages and Contemporary European Sudies and in the same week my country decides it's better off separating itself from the very cultures I've been studying. You see, I'm part of that generation that considers itself to be British and European. Likes the UK and the EU. Appreciates the progressive nature of breaking down borders and building bridges, not putting up walls. During my time in Germany, I walked over a bridge between France and Germany (admittedly, because we got off the bus one stop early in Germany, rather than waiting to go over the border). After having studied France and Germany in depth, I could really appreciate the pertinence, even beauty, of being able to go between these great countries without a passport, without even seeing a security guard. Two nations who have been at each other's throats for generations, now at peace. Working together.

I've always been a Europhile - fascinated by French food, an enthusiast of Spanish football, an admirer of the German work ethic. That's what inspired me to learn languages, for a different language truly is a different vision of life. For me, the most saddening thing about Brexit is that it reveals what kind of country most Brits want to live in, a country that is so far removed from everything I stand for and believe in.

The day of the Brexit announcement happens to be my last day at the language school. At the awards ceremony (slightly too grand for a two week course, I might add), it was clear that it was not just the Brits on the course who were incredibly disconsolate about the result. Many people - from India to Italy and beyond - said to me that they were sad, and they felt sorry for me as a Remain voter. Language schools are a rare - and brilliant - opporunity to learn in a truly global environment. In my class, there was a Brazilian, a Russian, two Indians, a Croatian. I'm privileged to have been able to have such experiences - to learn from and alongside people from all over the world, and it is this that has shaped my own life philosophy and values. This is where the Remain campaign failed. Instead of embracing what is positive about Europe - the benefits of globalisation, co-operation, peace builiding and so on, far too often a negative rhetoric of austerity and recession were used. 

In an age when Britain chooses to look inward rather than outward, I can be reassured by one thing. There are many others like me, in Britain and beyond, who still believe that there could be a better world where we put nationalism and patriotism to one side, and favour intercultural understanding and friendship instead.