The story we keep hearing is that millions of people suddenly and simultaneously lose their minds: crowding the beaches, packing the streets of Soho etc. But if lots of people do the same thing at the same time, it’s not a coincidence. It’s because of signals the government sends

Because many people have been induced to stop believing in the efficacy of government, they succumb instead to essentialist myths about national character: “we behave like this because we’re British”. This feeds into far right generalisations about ethnicities and nationalities.

It fails to explain why we see completely different outcomes in adjoining nations. It’s about the leverage exerted by government and other powerful forces, not any congenital characteristics of the people. We are fundamentally the same, the world over.

Legal frameworks play a massive role in shaping national ethics. Why didn't fascism become the dominant political force in Britain and France in the 1930s? For several reasons, but a major one was that both governments banned paramilitary parades and rallies in uniform.

It was a simple and highy effective measure. The signal it sent was that fascist gatherings were unsanctioned and unacceptable. Government action and government communication remain essential tools shaping public behaviour.