Geopolitics: UK Election - Triumph Of Reason

(Drivebycuriosity) - Boris Johnson´s landslide election win yesterday was also a triumph of reason. The British majority voted strongly for Brexit - a smart decision. UK will do better outside the European Union.

The British economy will be more efficient & flexible without the constraints by the EU. Great Britain will get rid of the EU over-regulation and will become more attractive for businesses. When the country isn´t controlled by Brussels anymore it will become more liberal (in the sense of Hayek & Adam Smith) and less regulated.  "One of the very good things that could come of a Brexit: shaking off the Eurosklerosis that has held back growth in the Eurozone for many years", writes Scott Grannis  ( scottgrannis ). Eurosklerosis describes a pattern of economic stagnation in Europe that resulted from government over-regulation and overly generous social benefits policies.

Over the years the European union became more bureaucratic & Byzantine. The European Commission (Brussels) has been gaining more and more power - developing the EU into something like the defunct Soviet Union, a bundle of states ruled by a central government. The European Parliament and the EU Commission treat the EU increasingly like a kingdom. Even after the Brexit decision they want to expand the power of the EU and demand more integration, meaning more power for Brussels ( spiegel.de).

According to EU law, the Brits couldn´t work for more than 48 hours a week, averaged over 17 weeks ( marketwatch ). 60% of Great Brtain`s laws came from the EU in Brussels rather than from Parliament in London. It's not hard to understand being pissed off at being subject to unaccountable bureaucrats in Brussels", writes Rolling Stone author Matt Taibbi ( rollingstone ).

History shows that separations often go well. Taiwan separated in 1949 from Motherland China which led to a "period of rapid economic growth and industrialization, creating a stable industrial economy" (wikipedia). Today Taiwan has a per capita income of $50,500, about 3-times of China ($16,700). Hong Kong, which got separated in the 19th century, has a per capita income of $61,500. Singapore did even better. The tiny state had been a part of Malaysia, but got kicked out in 1965 after political conflicts. The independence brought Singapore swift economic growth. Today the state belongs to the most advanced economies of the world with a per capita income of $94.100 (all numbers are from the CIA World Factbook cia.gov).

The British could learn from Switzerland, which was never member of the EU. Little Switzerland has a higher per-capita income as each of EU members and belongs to the wealthiest countries in the world. People worldwide are buying Swiss products & services and don´t care whether the country is part of an union or not. There is more evidence: Europe became the world’s most dynamic civilization after around the year 1500 partly because of political fragmentation (split in many tiny countries) and there was competition between multiple independent states, wrote the historian Niall Ferguson (bostonglobe). Small countries like The Netherlands became global powers. The Italian Renaissance is another example: A patchwork of independent city states, including Milan, Florence, Pisa, Siena, Genoa, Ferrara, Mantua, Verona and Venice, was competing against each other. This created a climate which fostered businesses, sciences & arts.

It is highly unlikely that the rest of the world will curb trade with the UK and will invest  
less there when the country is on her own. Companies are doing business with the island because they are making profits there. Why should they give up these profits?

Congratulations to Johnson, the UK and the Brexiters!