Four post-Brexit steps towards a more inclusive globalisation

On 16 August 2016, Westminster City Council Planning Policy and Communication team members were invited to the streaming of a TED talk by Alexander Betts on why Brexit happened and what to do next. Alexander Betts, Professor of Forced Migration and International Affairs at the University of Oxford, argues that Brexit grew out of a deep, unexamined divide between those that fear globalisation and those that embrace it.

The goal must be for more people to share in the benefits of globalisation to achieve an inclusive globalisation rather than one that is seen as part of an elite agenda. Betts’ four ideas to achieve this are:

• Civic education to close the gap between public perception and empirical reality
• Increased interaction between diverse communities
• Ensure that everyone shares in the benefits of globalisation and that those who do are aware of it
• More responsible politics: Polarised countries tend to be far less tolerant of globalisation

According to Betts, only when we achieve the above will we truly reconcile democracy and globalisation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For further information please see https://www.ted.com/talks/alexander_betts_why_brexit_happened_and_what_to_do_next