Watching the English – science explains why the UK will vote against Brexit today

By Alec Hogg

Shortly after we arrived in the UK a month ago, an Afrikaner who runs a London-based multinational offered some sage advice: Read “Watching the English” by Kate Fox, he said. It will change your perspective of the locals from confused to fascinated. He was right.

In her masterful work written a decade ago, social anthropologist Fox exposes hidden rules of English behaviour, explaining that at its core is a national malady she terms “Social Dis-Ease”. Once you have absorbed this, those famous English eccentricities are unlocked, helping outsiders understand this highly complex people.

Central to Fox’s thesis is a deep-seated, automatic reflex of the English towards moderation. Or, as she writes, “avoidance of extremes, excess or intensity of any kind. What do we want? GRADUAL CHANGE. When do we want it? IN DUE COURSE.”

Read also: Deon Gouws: Bremain to Confused and back again. Why I’m voting EU.

Which tells us why, after all the huffing and puffing, the English were always more likely to vote to “Remain” inside the European Union. So expect Sterling to continue its recent rally; the stock markets to recover; and vulnerable knock-ons like the Rand to recover their composure. Retaining the status quo is embedded in the English DNA. And unless this particular leopard has changed its spots, that’s exactly what the nation will do today.

From Biznews community member David Melville

Normally the English just talk about the weather, but this time they are talking politics. Never have so many registered to vote – some 46 million folk I believe. I think it is going to be a lot closer than expected.

Visited 151 times, 2 visit(s) today