By BAGEHOT
One of the most popular interpretations of modern politics is that it is increasingly defined by the difference between open and closed rather than left and right. Do you think this is a accurate way to look at things? Being open suggests support for both economic openness (immigration and free trade) and cultural openness (support for the rights of gays and other minorities). Conversely, closedness means hostility to these things. But is it really that simple?
The Economist explored this argument in a cover article on July 30th 2016. The case for this way of differentiating has been reinforced by a new think tank that is called, appropriately enough, Global Future. It has commissioned an opinion poll, whose results suggest that the most salient political division is between open-minded and closed-minded voters, and that this division is also a generational one. On the question of whether immigration is a force for good there is a 51 percentage point difference between the 18- to 44-year-olds and the over-45s. On multiculturalism, the EU and overseas aid the difference are 48%, 60% and 53% respectively. Do you see a generational divide in opinions in your own life?
There is clearly a lot of force in the argument. We saw this divide play out in politics recently, with Donald Trump’s America First nationalism winning the American presidency against Hillary Clinton’s globalism. Does it seem like this divide has only grown stronger since then? What do you think?
But we should be careful about taking the distinction too far. The “drawbridge up” or “drawbridge down” dichotomy looks a bit too self-serving for comfort. The people who make the claim aren’t just engaging in dispassionate analysis. They are players who are engaged in a political battle: “closed” is used as a pejorative description (“closed-minded”) and “open” as a term of praise. What are your thoughts on this? Does this seem accurate to you?
Advocates of openness argue that certain leaders in the Brexit support camp were actually looking to advance openness against the closedness of the European Union. But others believe that the main driver behind the Brexit vote was actually fear of immigration. What do you think was the main driving factor behind the Brexit vote? Do you agree with these arguments?