How did it come to this?
50% youth unemployment in Spain and Greece. 12% average EU unemployment.
Who can argue against the original objectives of the European Union? A prosperous, voluntary trading bloc of nation states that would put the possibility of another European war beyond imagination?
However it is difficult to argue now that it has all gone to plan. The vision, especially the Euro has become an ideology!
Ideologies go beyond the rational. If European leaders were rational they would be able to admit the Euro has been a ghastly mistake. A good idea that became an ideology, an ideology that has locked several countries into generational unemployment which is nothing short of criminal.
So instead of the devaluation of their currencies ( as would have happened in the past ) they are forced to adjust by so called internal devaluations, ie. unemployment, cuts, wage reductions, deflation, lower standards of living etc.
These are the conditions which give rise to another ideology, that is to say a rise in far right national parties or the mirror image of the far left.
If only European leaders would have the courage to tell voters it has been a mistake and that a change of direction is necessary they would gain the respect of the electorate.
I doubt this will happen. Ideologies tend to be pursued to the bitter end against all rational criteria. That is what defines an ideology!
Maybe the Euro will survive in spite of the extreme costs. Maybe the rise of the far right will not lead to war, but it is a terrible risk and the people of Europe are paying a terrible price
.JPG)
