The speed at which Britain has been written off in some of continental Europe's capitals is quite remarkable. Yet even after the exit, Britain remains one of Europe's major economic nations and the European Union must come to an arrangement with it. Taking steps to punish the British population, which is what some now dream of doing, will not pay off. Besides, Britain now has enough of its own domestic problems to deal with. Politicians who complain of Britain's "cherry picking" in a bid to prevent it from trading freely with the European Union only reveal their own ignorance. Free trade is not a zero-sum game; and those who adopt such a reductionist approach will only end up hurting themselves.
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