The Metaphysics of Brexit

Finlayson, Alan (2019) The Metaphysics of Brexit. Third Text, 32 (5-6). pp. 598-604. ISSN 0952-8822

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Abstract

In this article, I consider Brexit as the expression of a more general ideology – Brexitism – which I explore through commentary upon a series of quotations drawn from speeches, newspapers, propaganda material and social media. This method is appropriate because Brexitism is itself a kind of quotation – a repetition of half-remembered actual and fictional past political gestures – which allude to something deeper. Exploring fragments which illustrate three different elements of Brexitist ideology – Heroism, Time and Distinction – I suggest that these can be read as expressions of an underlying, dynamic and ‘productive’ conceptual field, similar to what Max Weber described as a ‘stand toward the world’. This is the ‘metaphysics of Brexit’ apart from which it cannot be fully understood.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Issue: Lost in Europe: In the Wake of Britain’s Inner Emigration
Uncontrolled Keywords:	alan finlayson,brexit,brexitism,political ideologies,political ideas,political rhetoric,weber,ukip,farage,conservatism,alt-right
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > School of Politics, Philosophy, Language and Communication Studies (former - to 2024)
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Groups > Policy & Politics Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Groups > Cultural Politics, Communications & Media Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Groups > Political, Social and International Studies
Related URLs:	http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?...
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	03 Dec 2018 16:31
Last Modified:	31 Oct 2025 03:31
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/69147
DOI:	10.1080/09528822.2018.1548834

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