One or two things from Euroscepticland (aka Britain) - Part 2

Eurosceptics love nothing more than mixing the truth with lies (a bit like the devil in The Exorcist), hence their popularity and the difficulties faced when conversing with them.

I am yet to go through what I see as their valid arguments.  Beforehand, I would want to examine what I call the Eurosceptic narrative. It is very striking in the way that it resonates with a wide audience (at least in the UK). It does so by exposing a few facts in a scripted way full of cognitive bias and dissonance.

...Lack of Democracy…

This is the top complaint as far as Eurosceptics are concerned. Again, it is not the purpose of the current piece to go through the actual argument itself but only to point out its irony.  We are here talking about people who, on the whole, are fully supportive of the British monarchy. I am yet to meet one who is not. This is a very simple question: How can you be against the EU on the grounds that it is anti-democratic AND be supportive of monarchy which is, in essence, un-democratic?

Furthermore, when you dig a bit deeper into the anti-democratic argument, the European council comes always first: Unelected people being part of the executive decision-making process is the issue at stake. Well, surely eurosceptics should have supported the House of Lords’ reform as proposed by Nick Clegg a couple of months ago? No, of course, not, most Eurosceptic Tory MPs have buried it.

Pro-monarchists argue that unelected heads of state are more stable and committed (when they are not heading the EU, that is)

Those in favour of the status quo in the House of Lords argue that unelected public officers do a better job because they are less likely to be lobbied or be partisan and/or corrupted (except when they are part of the European council of course).

... Corruption and Cost …

Widespread corruption within the EU institutions is very frequently argued. I am not sure that there has ever been a real case of corruption and it seems a fairly flimsy argument in itself. Nevertheless, you need to have a seriously cheeky streak to bring that up when your own country is plagued with corrupt journalists and police officers. Look no further than the News of the World scandal and all its ramifications.

The notion of corruption is often mingled with the one of cost. Again, one needs to look at one of the biggest scandals of the last few years in the UK: MPs’ expenses. The British elected members of parliament have abused public funds at tax payers’ expense. They have consistently shown how much contempt they hold for the idea of accountability.

… The Elitist Argument…

When all arguments have been endlessly debated and, for a lot of them, rationally debunked, a Eurosceptic’s last resort is the elitist cry: The European project has been built by over-educated out of touch people, we are told. The ‘real people’ never bought into it and the common man’s views are not taken into account… As opposed to the current British government, for instance, where most of the cabinet members are privately educated millionaires.

… Double Standards and Cognitive dissonance…

Double standards are in play when you use two sets of different values to judge two different systems, which clearly is the case within British Eurosceptic circles. Whatever the truth is with regards to the weaknesses of the EU institutions, the fact remains that the UK’s machinery of government does not fare any better at all.

But what is even more interesting is that the criticism addressed towards the EU is a complete mirror of the weaknesses of the British system and institutions themselves. One does not need to know much about psychology to suspect a serious case of projection and scape-goating as a way of avoiding facing one’s own issues.