,
11 tweets,
7 min read
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This was meant as a general statement, but today I'd like to apply it to the EU
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One of the consequences of #EUref was the construction of a public debate that says the EU is either the best thing since sliced bread, or the worst thing ever
Oddly, it's neither
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Oddly, it's neither
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People voted for lots of different reasons in #EUref - sometimes to do with the EU, sometimes not - but having become more invested in an identity as a Leaver or a Remainer, it's tempting to seek out things that confirm that identity
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I've just posted a blog about an aspect of this - the @Europarl_EN - that discusses the sense-making that we all engage in
blogs.surrey.ac.uk/politics/2019/…
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blogs.surrey.ac.uk/politics/2019/…
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@Europarl_EN But the point is a bigger one.
Yesterday I had a bit of an interaction with @AxelThill about the democratic-ness of @vonderleyen's becoming Commission President
I'm not sure we got to any agreement, but it did provoke this reflection
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Yesterday I had a bit of an interaction with @AxelThill about the democratic-ness of @vonderleyen's becoming Commission President
I'm not sure we got to any agreement, but it did provoke this reflection
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@Europarl_EN @AxelThill @vonderleyen I'd not be surprised if he felt that because I was pointing out the terms in which it was democratic, that meant I thought the EU was great.
If you like one bit of it, you like it all. Just like disliking a part means disliking all of it
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If you like one bit of it, you like it all. Just like disliking a part means disliking all of it
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@Europarl_EN @AxelThill @vonderleyen My actual position is that this bit works more democratically than some other IOs, but not as much as in some states: it's a compromise, as democratic structures always are.
And in the case of the EU, even more so, as it wasn't designed as a democracy in the 1st place
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And in the case of the EU, even more so, as it wasn't designed as a democracy in the 1st place
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@Europarl_EN @AxelThill @vonderleyen I could offer some suggestions on how to improve matters, but those would come down to a set of assumptions about the nature of the EU and the purpose behind it that wouldn't be generally held
(and that's true what those suggestions might be)
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(and that's true what those suggestions might be)
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@Europarl_EN @AxelThill @vonderleyen No political system is perfect, so there is always something that can be challenged.
The test should be whether the flaws are outweighed by the benefits, and whether an alternative model would produce a better balance
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The test should be whether the flaws are outweighed by the benefits, and whether an alternative model would produce a better balance
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@Europarl_EN @AxelThill @vonderleyen It's no a spoiler that while an argument can be had, there is not end to that discussion, because it will always be a trade-off of some kind.
If we can acknowledge our confirmation biases and accept there are limits to what we can have, then we might find more common ground
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If we can acknowledge our confirmation biases and accept there are limits to what we can have, then we might find more common ground
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