pro Brexit UK, Trump Supporters, Putin, China, Isis, and the return of old demons

[DonCoquixote]

We can all wave fingers at something they do and say "that's awful" and indeed, it often is, despite the fact that many can easily pull up something we do and say "that's awful, and indeed, it is."

However, the overall thread that binds these phenomena together is the fact that once, for all of it's faults, the idea of Democratic values, the idea that one person was a citizen and had rights and responsibilities as a citizen, was considered a desired ideal. Now, in all these groups I have mentioned there is an obvious link, and a not so obvious link.

The link is that these people have lost faith in democracy and the state as a means of curing ills and providing stability. Yes Putin and Beijing can wave every communist flag they want, but they do have bought into the fact that the strongest people should exploit the weaker people, and that if the lower classes know what is good for them, they will either be shut up or be shutup. Isis revive atrocities that should have been lond dead, and yet they attract more followers every day. Of Trump, little need be said, save that he is also reviving old old things that most Americans thought were left behind in the 20th century. Of Brexit, it says a lot that London voted against it, but that it's support are from "middle england" aka conservative England.

And these is the NOT so obvious link. The very people who democracy and liberalism was founded on reject it. The very people who were the "populists" are the very people championing the rich men who do not even pretend to put away the handcuffs and clubs, but instead promise more of it. The common people, so bereft of strength, see the fact that this person is a THUG as an asset, i.e. someone who will beat up other thugs, even if he is certain to beat up locals too.

It is easy to say "dammit those egghead liberal technocrat wonks screwed up again by not making the message clear." and yes, that it true, but the real horror is that the so called "common man" the person upon whom the idea of free,liberal governments were made, has shown themselves as corrupt, and therefor, willing to promote corruption. This means that the demogouges are on the rise.

[JI7]

1. they say the young(remain) people didn't come out in as high numbers as the older(leave) voters

one difference in the US is the older black and hispanic people can be expected to turnout to vote against trump .

[gwheezie]

2. I spoke to 2british tourists today

Granted it's 2 people out of the whole world and they voted to leave. The main reason was anti immigrant, real ugly undertones in their reasoning however I don't live there so don't know how this issue effects people. The odd part was one of them sites Michael Moore as the only American that makes sense and both men blamed Bush for the worldwide economic and migrant catastrophe.

[swhisper1]

5. Bush is responsible for much of it

[jonno99]

3. Perhaps you could expand on this thought:

...the real horror is that the so called "common man" the person upon whom the idea of free,liberal governments were made, has shown themselves as corrupt

[DonCoquixote]

6. simply put

that the common man will screw himself as hard as those who would manipulate him would.

[cloudythescribbler]

4. A thumping victory for stupidity everywhere ...

But before fingers start wagging at the proverbial "common man" note the role of the press in the UK in SYSTEMATICALLY propagandizing against the EU:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/22/opinion/who-is-to-blame-for-brexits-appeal-british-newspapers.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=0

As this article notes, at all levels -- highbrow, middlebrow & tabloids, the EU was systematically trashed for years and years. You really can't expect the mass public to be somehow more enlightened, especially about something not right before their daily experience, than the 'wall of BS' that comes from a systematically propagandizing mass media