REX VAN SCHALKWYK: US election and Brexit have uncovered ‘liberal intolerance’
Ideology has caused more misery over the past century than the failings that they were instigated to correct
There is an echo of the post-Brexit rebellion in the street protests that have occurred throughout the US following the election of Donald Trump. In both cases there has been a refusal to accept the unexpected result. In both cases, particularly in the latter, there was widespread anticipation, prompted by inaccurate polling and biased media coverage, that the result would favour the outcome confidently predicted by the media frenzy. The media are, of course, on the side of what is frequently described as "the establishment" and are largely to blame for having fostered, what turned out to be, unrealistic expectations. That is only a part of the problem. More significant is the apparent inability of the anti-Brexit and pro-Clinton encampments to graciously accept the outcome of a democratic process. The source of the problem runs much deeper than the aberrant behaviour of the malcontents. It derives from a world view and a philosophical assurance that brooks no dissent. This is manif...
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