When you have democracy without education, Brexit happens

What you need to know:

  • Several million voters are asking for a rerun-referendum.
  • If a hundred fools are asked to make a decision, the fact that they decide by majority vote does not necessarily make their decision wise.
  • The European Union is a potpourri of diverse legal systems and cultures and it has been extremely uncomfortable for Britain to abide and follow Civil Law procedural rules.

“Nature has formed you, desire has trained you, fortune has preserved you for this insanity… You never even desired any war but a criminal one; you have collected a band of profligates and worthless men, abandoned not only by all fortune but even by hope.”

Thus, Cicero described Lucius Sergius Catilina, an able Roman commander and senator, who conspired to overthrow the Roman Republic.

Thus we could describe Catilina’s modern version, Boris Johnson, who led the Brexit campaign. Clearly, his team did not expect to win; and if they actually did, they had not planned how to manage the victory.

Johnson, Britain’s own Trump, led Great Britain to a vote that removed the ‘Great’ from ‘Britain’. A leap into the unknown.

The damage is done and they were not prepared for it. The damage is financial, political, legal and social, so far of devastating magnitude.

Financially, according to Jenny Anderson, British stocks have lost more than £125 billion after Brexit, which is the equivalent to 15 years’ worth of EU contributions.

The pound lost 13 per cent of its value overnight and Britain’s credit rating has also been downgraded. There is uncertainty and fear in London, which has been until now, by far, the largest financial capital of Europe.

Those who voted for Brexit were manipulated into believing that leaving the EU would make it possible to divert £350 million a week from the EU bureaucratic apparatus to the National Health Service (NHS).

The morning after Brexit, Farage owned up and said this was not possible.

DELAY TACTICS

According to the Centre for Economic Performance of the London School of Economics, after Brexit, the EU will still be the world’s largest market and the UK’s biggest trading partner.

A key question is what will happen to the three million EU citizens living in the UK and the two million UK citizens living in the EU. Britain could join the European Economic Area.

This would minimise the trade costs of Brexit, but it would mean paying about 83 per cent as much into the EU budget as the UK currently does. It would also require keeping current EU regulations (without having a seat at the table when the rules are decided).

Politically, we are witnessing the beginning of the implosion of an empire. Scotland and Northern Ireland have threatened to conduct another independence referendum so as to remain in the EU.

Several million voters are asking for a rerun referendum. They are also looking into the possibility of delay tactics and tough negotiations to ameliorate the negative impact of Brexit.

What has happened to Britain shocked the world because it was Britain, but it's nothing terribly new for us. It happens in most developing nations election after election.

Voting in Kenya follows erratic patterns, predictable only by a very peculiar logic that takes into account unmeasurable parameters such as corruption, ethnicity, and a weak electoral body.

After all, the essence of democracy is the rule of the majority. When this majority is uneducated the system breaks apart, and is not sustainable. The nation is well on its way to tyranny.

This may call for a revision of our democratic systems and ideals. I believe democracy is the less imperfect system, yet it is far from perfect.

I have said before that the fact that democracy is the rule of the majority does not necessarily mean the majority is always right.

If a hundred fools are asked to make a decision, the fact that they decide by majority vote does not necessarily make their decision wise. On the contrary, it could turn out to be great foolishness.

Ignorance turns democracy into ‘demo-crazy’, where political decisions are inconsistent and contradictory.

SURVIVOR BRITAIN

This happened last week in Britain: an ignorant electorate voted for Brexit first and then, later on, went to Google, “what is the EU?”

Socially, Brexit has shown the world how divided Britain is between the ignorant and the enlightened, the rich and the poor. The British social fabric is torn, inconsistent and unsustainable.

Racism seems to have been at the core of the Brexit vote, “give us back our borders, give us back our laws.” This chant has triggered xenophobic demonstrations.

According to data from Google Trends, "what is the EU" and "what is Brexit" were among the top searches across Britain on the night of the referendum. They started climbing after the polls closed, at 10 pm.

Nigel Farage argued that “the British vote against the European Union represented the revolt of the poor against the rich, the provinces against the metropolis, the losers of globalisation against the elite.” And it seems true.

The less informed had their voice heard. But what for? The sterling pound has lost a good chunk of its value, jobs have been lost, prices are soaring and there is no end to the financial crunch in sight. 

For good or bad, Britain has become an inward-looking fragmented society, whose greatness is gone; those desires to conquer belong to the past. Now Britain is focused on its own survival.

Perhaps Brexit could also impact the language usage within the EU. Why should English continue being an official EU language?

Ignorance makes men manipulable and vulnerable, like sheep taken to the slaughterhouse. For this reason, democracy needs certain parameters that escape a majority vote. These include education, which sustains democracy and guarantees the wisdom of the majority.

EUROPE IN A HURRY

The success of a democratic system is directly proportional to the level of education of its voters. “Give us back our laws,” the Leave supporters shouted.

This has also been the historical tension between Civil Law and Common Law. The European Union is a potpourri of diverse legal systems and cultures and it has been extremely uncomfortable for Britain to abide and follow Civil Law procedural rules.

In any case, Britain should now set into motion the departure mechanism foreseen by Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. It says:

1. Any Member State may decide to withdraw from the Union in accordance with its own constitutional requirements.

2. A Member State which decides to withdraw shall notify the European Council of its intention. In the light of the guidelines provided by the European Council, the Union shall negotiate and conclude an agreement with that State, setting out the arrangements for its withdrawal, taking account of the framework for its future relationship with the Union. That agreement shall be negotiated in accordance with Article 218(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. It shall be concluded by the Council, acting by a qualified majority, after obtaining the consent of the European Parliament.

3. The Treaties shall cease to apply to the State in question from the date of entry into force of the withdrawal agreement or, failing that, two years after the notification referred to in paragraph 2, unless the European Council, in agreement with the Member State concerned, unanimously decides to extend this period.

This is a divorce: traumatic, bitter and irreversible. The process can last up to two years, but Europe is in a hurry to get done with it.

A meeting of foreign affairs ministers of the six founding members of the EU concluded that Britain should make her withdrawal application as soon as possible. The ministers said uncertainty would not help anyone, and Europe wants to focus on its future.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, however, sweetened the bitter pill when she said that the negotiation should not be rushed, but candid and positive.

REVIVE THE COMMONWEALTH

Perhaps Boris Johnson and his comrades were just advancing their political careers. Maybe they had good intentions, and possibly had some ingredients right in the Brexit menu, but they opened a Pandora’s box.

What is next? According to Boris Johnson:

I believe we now have a glorious opportunity. We can pass our laws and set our taxes entirely according to the needs of the UK economy. We can control our own borders in a way that is not discriminatory, but fair and balanced. [...] Above all, we can find our voice in the world again.

Brexit should trigger an in-depth social and institutional reflection. There is no way back. The British people cannot move the clock back and pretend nothing has happened.

Britain has to reinvent itself if it is to remain relevant. Perhaps the best way to secure a market is to revive the Commonwealth.

The European Union is also in trouble and needs to rethink its strategy and policies. Brexit is just a thermometer of what is to come unless some key structural changes are put in place, lest the EU fall under its own weight.

For Boris Johnson, this is Britain’s independence day. There are mixed feelings; more losses than gains, unexpected financial costs, and the possibility of a domino effect which may disintegrate Europe once again.

The French are already speaking of Frexit and the Dutch of Nexit. Then Grexit, Swexit, Departugal, Spaut, Italeave, Czechout, Oustria, Finish and Byelgium, finally leaving Ger-not-so-many in the EU.

Dr Franceschi is the dean of Strathmore Law School. [email protected], Twitter: @lgfranceschi