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Icomefromanislandwheremanyofusliketobelievethere'sbeenalotofcontinuityoverthelastthousandyears.Wetendtohavehistoricallyimposedchangeonothersbutdonemuchlessofitourselves.SoitcameasanimmenseshocktomewhenIwokeuponthemorningofJune24todiscoverthatmycountryhadvotedtoleavetheEuropeanUnion,myPrimeMinisterhadresigned,andScotlandwasconsideringareferendumthatcouldbringtoanendtheveryexistenceoftheUnitedKingdom.Sothatwasanimmenseshockforme,anditwasanimmenseshockformanypeople,butitwasalsosomethingthat,overthefollowingseveraldays,createdacompletepoliticalmeltdowninmycountry.Therewerecallsforasecondreferendum,almostasif,followingasportsmatch,wecouldasktheoppositionforareplay.Everybodywasblamingeverybodyelse.PeopleblamedthePrimeMinisterforcallingthereferenduminthefirstplace.Theyblamedtheleaderoftheoppositionfornotfightingithardenough.Theyoungaccusedtheold.Theeducatedblamedthelesswell-educated.Thatcompletemeltdownwasmadeevenworsebythemosttragicelementofit:levelsofxenophobiaandracistabuseinthestreetsofBritainatalevelthatIhaveneverseenbeforeinmylifetime.PeoplearenowtalkingaboutwhethermycountryisbecomingaLittleEngland,or,asoneofmycolleaguesputit,whetherwe'reabouttobecomea1950snostalgiathemeparkfloatingintheAtlanticOcean.Butmyquestionisreally,shouldwehavethedegreeofshockthatwe'veexperiencedsince?Wasitsomethingthattookplaceovernight?Oraretheredeeperstructuralfactorsthathaveledustowherewearetoday?SoIwanttotakeastepbackandasktwoverybasicquestions.First,whatdoesBrexitrepresent,notjustformycountry,butforallofusaroundtheworld?Andsecond,whatcanwedoaboutit?Howshouldweallrespond?Sofirst,whatdoesBrexitrepresent?Hindsightisawonderfulthing.Brexitteachesusmanythingsaboutoursocietyandaboutsocietiesaroundtheworld.Ithighlightsinwaysthatweseemembarrassinglyunawareofhowdividedoursocietiesare.Thevotesplitalonglinesofage,education,classandgeography.Youngpeopledidn'tturnouttovoteingreatnumbers,butthosethatdidwantedtoremain.OlderpeoplereallywantedtoleavetheEuropeanUnion.Geographically,itwasLondonandScotlandthatmoststronglycommittedtobeingpartoftheEuropeanUnion,whileinotherpartsofthecountrytherewasverystrongambivalence.Thosedivisionsarethingswereallyneedtorecognizeandtakeseriously.Butmoreprofoundly,thevoteteachesussomethingaboutthenatureofpoliticstoday.Contemporarypoliticsisnolongerjustaboutrightandleft.It'snolongerjustabouttaxandspend.It'saboutglobalization.Thefaultlineofcontemporarypoliticsisbetweenthosethatembraceglobalizationandthosethatfearglobalization.Ifwelookatwhythosewhowantedtoleave--wecallthemLeavers,asopposedtoRemainers--weseetwofactorsintheopinionpollsthatreallymattered.Thefirstwasimmigration,andthesecondsovereignty,andtheserepresentadesireforpeopletotakebackcontroloftheirownlivesandthefeelingthattheyareunrepresentedbypoliticians.Butthoseideasareonesthatsignifyfearandalienation.Theyrepresentaretreatbacktowardsnationalismandbordersinwaysthatmanyofuswouldreject.WhatIwanttosuggestisthepictureismorecomplicatedthanthat,thatliberalinternationalists,likemyself,andIfirmlyincludemyselfinthatpicture,needtowriteourselvesbackintothepictureinordertounderstandhowwe'vegottowherewearetoday.WhenwelookatthevotingpatternsacrosstheUnitedKingdom,wecanvisiblyseethedivisions.TheblueareasshowRemainandtheredareasLeave.WhenIlookedatthis,whatpersonallystruckmewastheverylittletimeinmylifeI'veactuallyspentinmanyoftheredareas.Isuddenlyrealizedthat,lookingatthetop50areasintheUKthathavethestrongestLeavevote,I'vespentacombinedtotaloffourdaysofmylifeinthoseareas.Insomeofthoseplaces,Ididn'tevenknowthenamesofthevotingdistricts.Itwasarealshocktome,anditsuggestedthatpeoplelikemewhothinkofourselvesasinclusive,openandtolerant,perhapsdon'tknowourowncountriesandsocietiesnearlyaswellasweliketobelieve.Andthechallengethatcomesfromthatisweneedtofindanewwaytonarrateglobalizationtothosepeople,torecognizethatforthosepeoplewhohavenotnecessarilybeentouniversity,whohaven'tnecessarilygrownupwiththeInternet,thatdon'tgetopportunitiestotravel,theymaybeunpersuadedbythenarrativethatwefindpersuasiveinouroftenliberalbubbles.Itmeansthatweneedtoreachoutmorebroadlyandunderstand.IntheLeavevote,aminorityhavepeddledthepoliticsoffearandhatred,creatingliesandmistrustaround,forinstance,theideathatthevoteonEuropecouldreducethenumberofrefugeesandasylum-seekerscomingtoEurope,whenthevoteonleavinghadnothingtodowithimmigrationfromoutsidetheEuropeanUnion.ButforasignificantmajorityoftheLeavevoterstheconcernwasdisillusionmentwiththepoliticalestablishment.Thiswasaprotestvoteformany,asensethatnobodyrepresentedthem,thattheycouldn'tfindapoliticalpartythatspokeforthem,andsotheyrejectedthatpoliticalestablishment.ThisreplicatesaroundEuropeandmuchoftheliberaldemocraticworld.WeseeitwiththeriseinpopularityofDonaldTrumpintheUnitedStates,withthegrowingnationalismofViktorOrbáninHungary,withtheincreaseinpopularityofMarineLePeninFrance.ThespecterofBrexitisinallofoursocieties.SothequestionIthinkweneedtoaskismysecondquestion,whichishowshouldwecollectivelyrespond?Forallofuswhocareaboutcreatingliberal,open,tolerantsocieties,weurgentl