Seduced by the siren song of isolation, Britons have opted out of the European Union, with "leave" prevailing in a 51.9-48.1 vote. The impact of the referendum is already being felt around the world — but this is only the beginning. No one knows what Brexit will mean to Britain, Europe and the wider world, but the omens are not good.
The United Kingdom has always been ambivalent about Europe. Historically, it has seen itself as separate from the continent, an offshore balancer that would prevent any single country from dominating that land mass and threatening Britain. It joined the European Economic Community, the precursor of the EU, in 1973 but never took full membership, maintaining the pound rather than adopting the euro, the EU's common currency, and its own border controls, rather than embracing the Schengen border-free system.
Nevertheless, many Britons believed that the EU eroded their sovereignty, buried them in bureaucracy, cost them economic opportunities and threatened their safety and security with open borders and a flood of immigrants. Seeking to quell a noisy and fractious sentiment within his party and his country, British Prime Minister David Cameron announced three years ago he would call a referendum on British membership in the EU, a vote that was supposed to be an easy win for him and fellow supporters of the U.K.'s continued membership.