Trading off costs and benefits of Brexit and the EU | Letters

Rafael Behr (The 'left behind' cliche is an excuse for political failure, 22 February) needs to go beyond castigating the complacency of the major parties with regard to their "safe" constituencies and voters. Yes, we do need to listen - but to which voices? There is a cacophony of reasons why people voted Brexit: poor job opportunities, ever weakening health provision, unaffordable housing, loss of sovereignty; no single cluster of these represents "the" reason why Brexit received a narrow plus vote last June. However, the main cause of these issues - as well as of many misplaced concerns about immigration - is the overly commercial/economic approach to globalisation that has driven financial growth above social benefit. Since the 2008 financial crisis, absolute standards of living for many people around the world have declined, and the disparity of reward between ordinary working people and those at the top of the economic tree has grown exponentially; and this was a key factor why voters in the referendum did not play according to the "rules" of politics.

But globalisation need not be solely about trade and profit for the few. The cultural benefits are vast and rarely spelt out: travel and a growth in knowledge about different parts of the world; intercultural communication and thus increased international understanding; access to new and stimulating ideas, beliefs, and practices; rapid movement of innovations. And above all, simply coming to know people from around the world, making more and more of the globe a source of friends rather than competition. Listening on its own is not enough - we need to make our global society more human-focused.
Paul Griseri
La Geni(C)touze, Charente-Maritime, France