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Why I might vote 'out' in the referendum

Here's the thing. I have done my best to assess the actual information, rather than scaremongering, from both sides and at the moment, neither has swayed me. Here's my logic for therefore voting out:

  1. My vote won't decide what happens. *
  2. If I vote 'in' I seem to be saying 'things are fine with the EU,' but they aren't
  3. If I vote 'out', then I'm adding weight to the argument the government needs to do more to distance us from the less palatable aspects of the EU. 
The usual objection to this kind of voting to make a point is 'But if everyone voted like that, we would be in a mess.'

I'm sure I don't need to point out to you the logical error in that argument. But just in case I do, we are talking about unconnected events. The way I vote will not have any influence on how other people behave. The 'What if everyone...' argument has no merit because my action is independent. 

* OK, strictly speaking, it could be totally balanced with my vote being the decider, but that is ridiculously unlikely. 

Comments

  1. cromercrox6 May 2016 at 12:11

    I'm voting Brexit, too. Like you, I'm conflicted. There are many good things about Europe, including free movement of people; that arguing about the shape of bananas is better than fighting one another, and so on. However, there are many bad things, notably (in my opinion) that the European Commission is not directly accountable to the electorate; it's a financial quagmire (the EU has never passed one of its own audits); member states conspire to bend the rules they have created for political reasons (the entry of Greece into the EU, the illegal French ban on British beef, etc); and that the Common Market, once a free-trade area, has gotten much too big for its boots (we never signed up for a European Army, a European Foreign Policy Representative and so on.) The Euro of course is a complete disaster. Mr Cameron hasn't managed to make any inroads into any of these in his 'Euro-Deal'. I can't see that these formidable structural obstacles can be fought from the inside, as the vested interests are too well-entrenched. Therefore (with some trepidation) I'm voting to leave.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Paul6 May 2016 at 14:07

    Brian, you might be underestimating the influence that your blog carries. It might well be that the many, many thousands who read this all say, "Hmm, he has a point there. I think I'll vote that way". With great power comes great responsibility.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brian Clegg6 May 2016 at 17:19

      It did strike me that, while doing it is independent, telling people about it isn’t. But then I thought, that doesn’t matter, as no one takes this seriously.

      Delete
  3. James Marinero7 May 2016 at 08:59

    Brexit definitely. 'With great power comes great responsibility' - of course - the EU has the power but little responsibility. Their accounts have not been signed-off in years. I really believe that the UK will be better off outside. As to Obama, OECD, IMF et al, they are afraid of change. Change scares the crap out of politicians and institutions - yet when they attempt it themselves they screw it up (e.g. Iraq).

    ReplyDelete

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