Echo Chambers

One of the challenges of our social media age is the tendency for us all to inhabit our own little echo-chambers, where the posts we view tend to reinforce our own views and prejudices. This is perhaps no more so than in relation to the ongoing debates around Brexit. I seem to be getting a lot of Facebook posts at the moment, from fellow remain supporters asking for anyone to tell them, please, what are the benefits of Brexit.

While I am quite clear about what, to me, seem to be the disadvantages of Brexit (both for the people of the United Kingdom and those of Europe), and the advantages of us remaining in the EU, I have previously been rightly challenged to listen to the other side and to think critically about the drawbacks of the European Union and the benefits of us leaving.

The Benefits of Brexit

So I have had a go and here are what I see as some of the benefits of us leaving the EU. Others who are more in favour may well be able to identify other benefits and to articulate them more clearly than I ever could, but here are my starters:

Leaving the EU on the 31^st October would put an end to the uncertainty that has plagued our country for the last 3 years. At least, then, we would know where we stand, and the government, civil service and parliament could start turning their attention to dealing with all the damage that has been (and likely will continue to be) caused by the outcome of the referendum;
It will silence the ongoing complaints of those who voted to leave (and, more importantly, those who champion themselves as the voice of those who voted to leave – and, by extension, the ‘voice of the people’ that the government, parliament, the press, and those who feel strongly that leaving the EU are not respecting the will of the people);
It will mean we can have a general election that focuses on the needs of our country, rather than just this single issue of whether we should stay or leave;
It will reduce the paralysis of the civil service and government caused by over 3 years of preparations for Brexit (although I note that it won’t eliminate it, since there will still be a long drawn out period of actually implementing our withdrawal where other government priorities continue to take second place);
More significantly, and this, to me, is perhaps the only genuine benefit that I can see, it provides an opportunity to challenge the dominant paradigm in both the EU and in our country that constant economic growth is something to be strived for.

If economic growth is indeed one of the principles on which the EU is founded, then that will not have benefitted the Union’s least privileged countries or individuals. By leaving the EU, we have an opportunity to emphasise that a strong, united economic bloc is not necessarily what we should be striving for.

However, it is disturbing that the importance of constant economic growth seems to underlie many of the arguments both for leaving and remaining in the EU. I am increasingly convinced though, that this is a flawed model, and what we should be aiming for is a stable, sustainable economy, not one of constant growth (Kate Raworth’s book Doughnut Economics presents a particularly helpful appraisal of this).

The third objective of the European Union is to ‘work for the sustainable development of Europe based on balanced economic growth and price stability, a highly competitive social market economy’. So, while economic growth is there, it does set it in the context of sustainable development.

And, if you look at those in the government who are promoting Brexit at any cost, it is hard not to conclude that they are doing so for their own economic and political gain, not for any desire to challenge this underlying paradigm.

Perhaps what is needed is other voices to challenge the status quo, regardless of whether we are in or out of the EU; and just perhaps, staying in the EU and pressing for the upholding of the underlying principles of peace, freedom, security and justice, with respect for the rights of individuals and of national, cultural and individual diversity, will be more effective in doing so.

I remain grateful to my friends, relatives and colleagues who have different views on Brexit to mine, and who challenge me to listen and to question my own views. In light of that, I would always welcome any genuine thoughts on how leaving the EU really will benefit the UK and its people.

For many years now I have struggled with the reality that, in spite of all my rhetoric of justice, compassion and humility, my affluent western lifestyle is inherently unjust, damaging and unsustainable. In the face of the inconvenient truths of climate change and global inequalities, the tiny steps we as a family have taken to live simply and sustainably appear miniscule.

So I have been both challenged and encouraged by Mark and Tom Delaney’s inspiring book, Low Carbon and Loving It. The Delaney’s are a remarkable family whose totally radical lifestyle has sat with me like an uncomfortable stone in my shoe: a stone that nevertheless challenges me to keep walking and try just a little bit harder. Mark and Cathy have spent most of the past two decades living in tiny one-roomed homes in Indian slums, bringing up their two boys, Tom and Oscar, in conditions which I know I could never cope with. In doing so, they have successfully managed to reduce their carbon production from the Australian average of 23 tonnes CO_2eq to much closer to the Indian average of 2.3 tonnes.

Mark and Tom’s book describes something of their journey in achieving this. They set out, in a very readable manner, the science of climate change and why we need to take is so seriously. And they provide lots of practical suggestions of how we, in the affluent west, can take steps to reduce our unsustainable carbon footprints and contribute to a more just and sustainable world.

Few, if any, would ever have the courage to follow in their footsteps (I know I couldn’t), but all of us can do something. And, as Mark and Tom point out, it is imperative that we do, if our children and grandchildren, and – more significantly – the billions of people across the world who have no choice in their lifestyles, are to have a future to look forward to.

As Lois and I have moved to Allesley and set up Breathing Space, Low Carbon and Loving It has inspired us to do bit more to make our home, our retreat centre, and our lifestyles just a little more sustainable. Our hope is that others, too, will come alongside us in doing so.

Low Carbon and Loving It is available in both paper and kindle editions on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Low-Carbon-Loving-Adventures-sustainable-Australia/dp/0648247708