Brexit: The Big Picture

It is sometimes good to sit back and look at the big picture.  We are all a small cogs in a big machine, and it is how the machine works that matters.  If we look at Europe at night we can see the urban areas lit up.  It also shows us where the population and therefore the economy is located.  This makes a couple of things very clear. 


For a start Britain is a much bigger part of the whole than the maps suggest.  I think the recent fall in the pound might mean that in the eyes of accountants that Britain has technically lost its status as the second largest economy in Europe - but the reality is that Britain is only just behind Germany as the most significant player.

It's also clear that we are looking at a single big system.  Currently it works harmoniously.

But it's a competitive world out there.  The United States is actually a smaller economy than Europe but punches more strongly by being more united.  China is rising rapidly and has a population bigger than Europe and the USA combined.  In fact it is not far short of twice the size of the combined population of both of them.

What exactly is the advantage of pulling out of the setup we currently have?