Heroic Failure: Brexit and the Politics of Pain

Of all the pleasurable emotions, self-pity is the one that most makes us want to be on our own... Only alone can we surrender completely to it and immerse ourselves in the steaming bath of hurt, outrage and tender regard for our terribly wronged selves. Brexit therefore makes sense for a nation that feels sorry for itself. The mystery, though, is how Britain, or more precisely England, came not just to experience this delightful sentiment but to define itself through it'.