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华盛顿—思考英国政治困境和推定立即落实的脱欧的最佳办法，是阅读米克·赫伦（Mick Herron）的《绝望屋》（Slough House）系列间谍小说（第六部《乔国》（Joe Country）刚刚出版）。赫伦描写了现代MI5情报机构和政府机构的一般运行机制——没有直接触及经济政策。但他完美地描述了官僚主义如何运转，以及政治“领导力”在一个幻觉和误导在民主制度中层出不穷的世界中真正意味着什么。
在经典间谍小说中，如约翰·勒卡雷（John le Carré）作品，矛盾突出，也是读者阅读乐趣的一部分。冷战期间，所谓的莫斯科规则（Moscow Rules）指引着间谍们如何在敌意环境中生存：“小心后背”便是指导性思想。如今，按照赫伦的说法，流行着一套伦敦规则（London Rules），其中最重要的一项是“护住你的菊花”，并保住你的饭碗。
在过去一个世纪中，英国有很多经济困难，经历了一些严重的危机，有时候，你很容易经不起诱惑作一番比较——比如，与两次世界大战间的金本位或1956年苏伊士危机相关的困难相比。但今天的国际体系已经大相径庭，英国在全球经济中的作用已大大缩减，英镑兑其他主要货币汇率也是自由浮动。
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