Who do we care about?

Peter Staples believes small is not beautiful in the EU

I am ashamed to say that I voted to stay in the EU at the recent referendum. Ashamed? Yes, because something deep inside me knew it was wrong but I did it anyway, betraying my inner voice. For many years I have supported the concept of ‘small is beautiful’, so passionately and eloquently expounded by Ernst Schumacher in his 1973 book of the same name. The book, according to one influential website: ‘brought Schumacher’s critiques of Western economics to a wider audience during the 1973 energy crisis and emergence of globalization.’ The Times Literary Supplement ranks Small Is Beautiful among the 100 most influential books published since world war two.

So, here was I, committed philosophically and spiritually to every word that Schumacher wrote, marching into the polling station to support the exact opposite. Don’t make any mistake about it, I believe the bureaucrats and technocrats who run the EU – whose names we never hear and whose faces we never see – aren’t remotely interested in individual liberty or justice, compassion or equality. They are interested in creating a United States of Europe. To that end they will manipulate the European Parliament and coerce individual national governments into cooperation. The greatest threat facing us, Britain and Europe, comes from within. Megalomaniacs with only one ambition – acquiring more and more power for its own sake – have had to step back a little because of the British ‘no’ vote.

Quakers seem to have overwhelmingly supported a ‘yes’ vote, so far as I can see, and this tells us a few things about modern British Liberal Quakers.

First, that we are naïve. Second, that we never took the trouble as a Society to discuss the issues involved. Third, that our comfortable middle class existence did not feel threatened. Fourth and I think this is the most telling criticism that can be made of Quakers in this country today, we did not care – let me say it again, we did not care – about those less well off than ourselves and what effect the referendum result might have on their lives and communities. Speaking for myself, in the months before the referendum on 23 June I did not speak to one person from a lower socio-economic bracket than my own. Did you?

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Comments

Before the referendum I was very unsure which way to vote. So my wife and I booked ourselves on a University of Edinburgh( remote learning)  course which over 4 weeks looked dispassionately at the issues. it was an excellent course and opened my eyes to how much we have been mislead re Europe. I was astounded that the leaders of the Leave campaign got away with such blatant lies. In the end and despite some serious misgivings I voted to Remain. So I dispute Peter Staples remarkably sweeping and unproven assertions . And yes Peter, I took the opportunity to speak with many people who appear to have less disposable income than me, quite easy to do in a depressed part of NE England, and I did pick up distress and anger at immigration, being forgotten and powerless.I am not convinced that Brexit will change any of that.

By JeffDean on 3rd September 2016 - 11:26

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I am just back from a week sorting the archives at the Quaker Council for European Affairs.  It feels as if Peter Staples and I live in different worlds. I have sent a letter to the Friend to say more.

By Richard Seebohm on 3rd September 2016 - 16:30

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