Thank you for reading Reaction and supporting our team in 2018
It’s beginning to feel a lot like Brexit. Only three months to go and what is most striking about Britain’s looming departure from the European Union is how well-prepared we are…
Anyway, enough of all that for now. Everyone needs a holiday, and Reaction is taking a break until January 3rd.
It’s been a heavy year and the last thing you or I need is me poring over 2018 at great length in a futile search for some unifying theme.
In brief, in Britain it seems obvious that post-Brexit we need a fundamental reassessment and renewal of our institutions and public policy.
On Trump, I could tell you that my most recent trip to Washington left me more concerned about the state of America than I’ve been since the Iraq War. Having been through the mainstream centre-right cycle on Trump, hating his election but then assuming he would learn and improve in office, I’m back hoping American voters curtail this guy’s presidency in 2020. Still, a key strength of the US is its perpetual cycle of elections. The cycle for the next general election is beginning. Trump is not America and the place has a history of producing extraordinary individuals to lead in a crisis.
On the year ahead in Europe, I could tell you how terribly worried we should be about the condition of the German banking system, and the weakness of Italy’s banks and the danger of a shock there being transmitted into the heart of French finance. The continent is slowing, and the signs are the UK economy is slowing sharply too.
But none of that is very festive.
So, instead I simply want to thank you for subscribing to Reaction.
It all happens because your subscription supports the team that pulls Reaction together every day.
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Why does the Reaction team do it? We hope we provide useful, entertaining analysis and good writing that helps makes sense of the news, from a pro-market, anti-Marxist perspective. We enjoy it and hope you find pleasure and even amusement in reading Reaction.
Until next time, forget Brexit for a few weeks. Pour yourself a large gin and tonic, or a decent malt; throw another log on the fire; put down that book on Trump and read a novel instead; on Netflix watch Some Like it Hot, it’s even better than you remember; and have a series of long snoozes. We’ll be back in January writing about what promises to be an exciting year ahead…
Happy Christmas,
Iain Martin,
Editor and Publisher, Reaction