The present stance of Brexit, even if one accepts much of the strange optimism of those who propose it, must be the most extreme example of Isolationism in a hundred years. Even if we all accept that Britain will OK, outside the EU, just to please these intellectual giants, that is no kind of evidence that international problems which face all nations, will disappear. Brexit enthusiasts never even discuss the matter; get Britain out of the EU, is as far as their minds go.

Separating Britain off from the tensions of other countries, which threaten all of us, is no attempt to engage in reality. There is not another planet to retreat to. The problems of Syria, Libya, Ukraine do not disappear if we leave the EU, although that is the only basis of much Brexit support, the hope that we will no longer be involved in wider international issues. Isolationism is the action of the ostrich, sticking its head in the sand, and that does not supply the most reliable view of the future. That is dangerous, since only international, collective action can safeguard any of us.

CN Westerman

Brynna