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> Conversely, this is the reason for Europe's clinging to socialism for the better part of the last century (homogeneous society) Europe is a continent with 50

> Conversely, this is the reason for Europe's clinging to socialism for the better part of the last century (homogeneous society) Europe is a continent with 50ish countries and dozens of widely spoken languages. It is in no way a homogeneous landmass. > a melting pot of sorts Which it has been since folks started invading, warring and immigrating across the continent thousands of years ago. > maintaining a Euro-centric identity will be far more difficult as many scramble to align themselves with a nation-centric identity. There hasn't been a dominant Euro-centric identity across Europe, however. Current trends in politics favoring the messages from conservative (or very conservative) parties is interesting news for the pundits to discuss. Different countries in Europe have been quite conservative and quite liberal over the last century, but they all are nations first (as is evidenced by how difficult it can be to effect change through the European Council/Parliament. > A strong EU that leans to the right is inevitable Unfortunately I'm not sure this can be concluded from the preceding arguments.

icebraining 11y ago
Martin: Yes, [the Napolean prize] is a NATO award given once every five years: gold medal, big ceremony in Brussels, £100 000. The PM's the front runner this time. It's for the statesman who's made the biggest contribution to European unity. Sir Humphrey: Since Napoleon. That is if you don't count Hitler. It's a joke, but has some truth to it: there isn't a single homogeneous society, but each country did become much more homogeneous in the post-war, after millions were "returned" (often against their will) to their countries of origin. And social democracy was and is the de-facto model in most countries, even if occasionally threatened.

icebraining 11y ago

Martin: Yes, [the Napolean prize] is a NATO award given once every five years: gold medal, big ceremony in Brussels, £100 000. The PM's the front runner this time. It's for the statesman who's made the biggest contribution to European unity. Sir Humphrey: Since Napoleon. That is if you don't count Hitler. It's a joke, but has some truth to it: there isn't a single homogeneous society, but each country did become much more homogeneous in the post-war, after millions were "returned" (often against their will) to their countries of origin. And social democracy was and is the de-facto model in most countries, even if occasionally threatened.