TheEconomistSeptember 28th 2019 751“T
heinventorsofmoderndemocra-
cy”, lamented Bernard-Henri Lévy
last summer,haveconfused“the people
withthemob,thehatchetofthereferen-
dumwiththewisdomoftheagora, a na-
tionalrebirthwitha plungeintothevoid.”
TheFrenchphilosopherwasinLondonon
amission:topersuadethosedemocratic
inventors, the British, to cancel Brexit. In
his one-man play, “Last Exit before Brexit”,
Mr Lévy showered his hosts with flattery,
pressing Byron, Nelson and Orwell into the
service of his argument that Brexit was fun-
damentally at odds with English liberal-
ism, which in turn had been fundamental
to the European project. “The software of
Europe is English,” he urged.
Eccentric as it seemed to some, the per-
formance reflected the continental estab-
lishment’s bafflement and dismay at Brit-
ain’s divorce from the European Union.
Brexit, in this reading, contradicts an old
perception of Britain as a pragmatic, un-dramaticsortofplace.ForMarcRoche,a
longstanding London correspondent for Le
Monde, France’s newspaper of record, that
establishment view is deeply mistaken. He
cites Mr Lévy’s speech in the final chapter
of “Le Brexit va réussir” (“Brexit Will Suc-
ceed”). “Fundamentally, I’m in total dis-
agreement,” he announces. “There is no
need to dream. Brexit will happen.”
“Die Flucht der Briten aus der europäis-
chen Utopie” (“The Britons’ Flight from the
European Utopia”) by Jochen Buchsteiner
takes a similar line. Mr Buchsteiner is an-
other veteran London correspondent, for
the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Ger-
many’s leading conservative broadsheet.LikeMrRoche,hebelievesthatthe conti-
nentalconsensusepitomisedbyMr Lévy is
wrong;thatBrexitistruetoBritain’s his-
toricalandphilosophicaltraditions; and
thatitcouldyetprovea success. In their
drasticdeparturesfromreceived wisdom
onthemainland,bothbooksmerit atten-
tionbyAnglophonereaders,too.
Botharerooted—andsharpest—in their
accountsof Britain’s exceptionalism. Mr
Rocheispreoccupiedbythemonarchy, be-
ginningeachofhischapterswith an anec-
doteabouttheroyalfamily.The queen’s
cameoin theopening ceremony of the
OlympicGamesinLondonin2012 is cited
asanexampleofBritain’sglobal cultural
reach;PrinceCharles’sundeserved educa-
tionatCambridgeUniversityiscrowbarred
into a chapter extolling the knowledge-
based Anglo-Saxon economy. The monar-
chical conceit wears thin—but the wider
observations are acute. More elegantly, Mr
Buchsteiner steers readers through Henry
VIII’s break from Rome, the English civil
war, the psychological legacy of the British
empire and the enduring role of the second
world war in Britons’ self-image. But the
two authors agree about what makes Brit-
ain unusual: a strange mix of pragmatism
and pride, openness and complacency.
Both argue that this exceptionalism
makes Brexit a natural development. Brit-
ain’s empirical tradition and messy state,EuropeansolidarityAdvance,Britannia!
BRUSSELS
NoteveryoneintherestoftheEuropeanUnionthinksBrexitisa disasterDie Flucht der Briten aus der
europäischen Utopie.By Jochen
Buchsteiner. Rohwolt; 144 pages; €15
Le Brexit va réussir.By Marc Roche. Albin
Michel; 240 pages; €18.50Books & arts
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