“They are lions led by donkeys” General Erich Ludendorff (commenting on the British Army in World War 1)
“A nation with the feeling of shame is like a crouching lion ready to leap forward.” Confucius
In the next four months, we will have to suffer various Establishment ‘opinion leaders’, including the Prime Minister, other politicians, ‘voices’ of big business etc., trying to scare us about the supposed dangers of leaving the European Union (EU). The unsubtle message is that we desperately need the EU and the subliminal one is that by ourselves, despite our past achievements, we are useless.
The number of times ‘Project Fear’ has been invoked over the last 48 hours, with the phrase “A leap in the dark” or similar being regurgitated over and over again leads even the most fair-minded person to conclude that this message is being orchestrated in some way, but why? Why is fear being spread in an attempt to influence, manipulate or even deceive the Electorate to take the “right” course of action? Why are our fellow-countrymen being terrified about the allegedly unfortunate consequences of the alternative?
Let us be clear: there is no substance to back up their statments. For example, the Prime Minister claimed recently that we would be far safer inside the EU than outside. However, he did not mention the harmful effects on our security arising from membership. Presumably the behaviour of an alien judiciary handicapping our law and security forces is not viewed as detrimental by Mr Cameron? In a similar mode, he said nothing about NATO, which has been the real source of peace and security in Europe. No one, apart form Mr Corbyn and a few of his acolytes, are suggesting we withdraw from NATO. This is not the issue at stake.
Control or manipulation by fear says a great deal about the perpetrators. In particular it shows poor management skills, insensitivity and disrepect towards us, besides a contempt for democracy which needs honest information to facilitate informed decision making. This is hardly reputable, honourable and responsible behaviour. It is also a distraction that avoids focussing attention on the major issues at stake.
Perhaps, then, this is the reason for its use. There is no real case for remaining in the EU as far as the UK population is concerned. What do we gain in exchange for our loss of liberty, democracy, prosperity and laws? The answer is membership of a slow, inflexible, dogmatic, autocratic, control-freakish, centralised and bureaucratic organisation, with its associated profligacy, waste, corruption ardently pursuing the absurd ideological goal of creating a superstate.
There is a simple explanation for the Establishment closing ranks in enthusiasm for the status quo of EU membership: it gains from the EU and consequently is afraid of ‘rocking the boat’ as this would lead to losing this privileged situation and comfort zone. We are talking about people with too much invested in it to be interested in change, whatever the costs to the rest of us and to our children. There is also hysteresis or inertia:- change requires effort so it is easier to avoid change.
Yet the modern world requires change and re-invention, something with which our Establishment does not feel comfortable. By being shackled to the EU, we are no longer on the cutting edge. Instead of being world-leading, we have become world-following. This is still nonetheless a comfortable scenario for our lacklustre leaders. They prefer to play it safe and therefore want to maintain the EU status quo. Even the resulting low wage economy and abundant cheap labour benefits their cosy world. It removes the need for risk taking or creative thinking.
Creating a nation fearful of the future, of change and progress, a nation which is required to obey (the EU, politicians, the Establishment), but not allowed to think for themselves must inevitably undermine our national self-confidence, energy and desire for a better tomorrow. In addition higher taxes, regulatory burdens and exclusion from markets largely reserved for favoured big business makes it more difficult, if not impossible, actually to break out from the status quo.
But what does Mr Cameron’s ‘Project Fear’ do to us as individuals, to our self-images and our opinions of our manipulatives rulers? Traditionally, certainly from the time when the Roman historian Tacitus wrote about our ancestors, we have admired and willingly followed a courageous leader and despised the cowardly, brutal or manipulative one. To give in to such a ruler, rather than standing up to him or her, whatever the cost, makes us despise ourselves and our weakness. You cannot walk tall with self-confidence when at the same time you are actually submitting to a bully and betraying the sacrifices of earlier generations for your freedom.
Our feelings of humiliation and loss of self-worth by surrendering to Project Fear can, theoretically, also be felt within sections of our shamefully complicit ruling Establishment. Some, who do not harbour self-delusions or opinions of superiority over us, are undoubtedly embarrassed by huddling together to protect self-interests and fabricating an incomplete or fake story in ordert to use Project Fear against their own people. However, with so few moral principles, if we vote to leave the EU, thankfully our ruling Establishment will rapidly accept the new situation and work within it.
We are living in exciting times. Just like the previous information revolution around 1450 with the invention of the printing press, it will be many years before the full impact of the Information Technology Age facilitated by the Internet and cheap computing power is realised. The sclerotic corporatism of the EU will not survive long once its failings are plain to see. Its business model of bloated bureaucracy prevents progress and hinders the empowering of individuals to be the innovative and inventive wealth creators of tomorrow.
Economist Joseph Schumpeter’s concept of Creative Destruction must be applied to the EU. We can take the lead in facilitating this process by voting to leave and thus beginning its implosion. This needs to happen not just to restore our lost liberty, democracy, justice and prosperity, but to create an environment free from fear, manipulation and exploitation that will drive us on to greater heights in a fast moving, increasingly competitive world.
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