I have to say that I think this USS Clueless article is somewhat simplistic, let alone biased. However despite that I do think it (and the article discussing Chirac that it starts commenting about) are right in parts.
What I disagree with is the imperialistic nostalgia bits. I don't think nostalgia has anything to do with it, especially given that in the grand scheme of things the Imperial powers were the UK, Austria and Spain not France or Germany. The reality is its all about power and influence today.
What is also missed is that Socialism is a popular idea. The fact that it doesn't work is irrelevant as far as the average man in the street is concerned. It has seemed to work for most of 50 years - because the rebuilding of the global economy after WWII drove massive growth rates, unfortunately it has too many short comings to work in places and times where populations and economies are not growing hand over fist.
The aims of socialism and the welfare state are laudable, but they come with two deadly side effects. The first is that they remove the incentive to do something and the second is that they require a large government bureaucracy to administer them. These two side effects mean that countries that implement a socialistic wellfare state system will eventually end up in deep doo-doo because the productive part of the economy becomes overwhelmed by the "drones". There is a great story by Rudyard Kipling called "The mother hive" that should be read by anyone who likes socialism.
However I do think that we are indeed seeing the evolution of a new Europe and I do think we need to worry about how it turns out. What really scares me is that we will see a socialist superstate show up. I know that eentually it will collapse under its own contradictions, but its collapse could be vrey unpleasant. Indeed it is arguable that one reason why the EU is so keen to enlarge is that it will stave off this collapse, rather as dying comapies merge to create bigger dying companies.
The other problem I see in Europe is a growing cynicism with the government. Effectively people are beginning to no longer trust their politicians and no longer believe that voting will provide a change. This is extremely worrying as it has the potential to lead to demagogues and tyrants. I do not think this can be fixed by outside assistance. It needs Europeans to fix it.
DD
What I disagree with is the imperialistic nostalgia bits. I don't think nostalgia has anything to do with it, especially given that in the grand scheme of things the Imperial powers were the UK, Austria and Spain not France or Germany. The reality is its all about power and influence today.
What is also missed is that Socialism is a popular idea. The fact that it doesn't work is irrelevant as far as the average man in the street is concerned. It has seemed to work for most of 50 years - because the rebuilding of the global economy after WWII drove massive growth rates, unfortunately it has too many short comings to work in places and times where populations and economies are not growing hand over fist.
The aims of socialism and the welfare state are laudable, but they come with two deadly side effects. The first is that they remove the incentive to do something and the second is that they require a large government bureaucracy to administer them. These two side effects mean that countries that implement a socialistic wellfare state system will eventually end up in deep doo-doo because the productive part of the economy becomes overwhelmed by the "drones". There is a great story by Rudyard Kipling called "The mother hive" that should be read by anyone who likes socialism.
However I do think that we are indeed seeing the evolution of a new Europe and I do think we need to worry about how it turns out. What really scares me is that we will see a socialist superstate show up. I know that eentually it will collapse under its own contradictions, but its collapse could be vrey unpleasant. Indeed it is arguable that one reason why the EU is so keen to enlarge is that it will stave off this collapse, rather as dying comapies merge to create bigger dying companies.
The other problem I see in Europe is a growing cynicism with the government. Effectively people are beginning to no longer trust their politicians and no longer believe that voting will provide a change. This is extremely worrying as it has the potential to lead to demagogues and tyrants. I do not think this can be fixed by outside assistance. It needs Europeans to fix it.
DD
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