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Had France "fallen," EU would have been toast. Together with Germany they are the main pillars of EU. As bad as EU is, eventually they will get along just fine
by easilyBored 9y ago
Had France "fallen," EU would have been toast. Together with Germany they are the main pillars of EU.
As bad as EU is, eventually they will get along just fine...or a least just as United States of America do.
- AlexeyBrin 9y ago> As bad as EU is, eventually they will get along just fine...or a least just as United Sates of America do. The difference is that in USA they speak the same language and even this way they are not as homogenous as they seem from outside. In Europe you have huge economical and cultural differences between certain states, bad blood for historical reasons between some nations and so on.
- tobltobs 9y agoIn Switzerland they speak four different languages and that doesn't seem to be a problem.
- AlexeyBrin 9y agoYou should try to live for a few years in different European countries like Hungary, Romania and Germany. Most importantly see how each of these people see each other and their neighbours. I bet that people in Switzerland have more in common (economically and culturally) than people from Bulgaria and France have for example.
- easilyBored 9y agoDon't even mention the Balkans...in some countries they still angrily talk about 1054 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East%E2%80%93West_Schism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East%E2%80%93West_Schism and 1204 (Sack of Constantinople https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Constantinople_(1204) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Constantinople_(1204)) Hopefully the new generations will care more about their iPhone 68 than ancient history.
- AlexeyBrin 9y agoI assume you know or realize that in certain European countries the medium monthly salary is 300 - 500 euros. Do you really think that say more than 10% of people from such a country could afford to buy an iPhone 7 ? Most people are concerned with keeping their jobs and making enough money to live from month to month. Also, when they lose their job the politicians will tell them that this is because of EU policies, Soros, big banks and similar ...
- Boothroid 9y agoI heard that the residents of Cadiz still hate Sir Francis Drake for his raid in 1587! Don't know how true that is though. Incidentally Cadiz is definitely worth a visit.
- tobltobs 9y agoI guess the difference would be similar to NYC vs. Kentucky or Alabama vs. California. Those differences (economically and culturally) don't seem to be a too big problem for the US. To come back to the example of Switzerland, the economically and culturally differences between a mountain farmer and a Banker in Geneva shouldn't be underrated also.
- tjalfi 9y agoRegional inequality is pretty bad in the US[0]. The following paragraph is an excerpt from the linked article. Yet starting in the early 1980s, the long trend toward regional equality abruptly switched. ... In 1980, the per capita income of Washington, D.C., was 29 percent above the average for Americans as a whole; by 2013 it had risen to 68 percent above. In the San Francisco Bay area, the rise was from 50 percent above to 88 percent. Meanwhile, per capita income in New York City soared from 80 percent above the national average in 1980 to 172 percent above in 2013. [0] http://washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/novdec-2015/bloom-and-bust/ http://washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/novdec-2015/bloom-and-...
- petre 9y agoYou don't understand. The cultural divide is huge and we have a long history of territorial disputes. Nation states in Europe are also relatively young and still forming. Just look at Yugoslavia.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- easilyBored 9y agoIn Europe you have huge economical and cultural differences between certain states, bad blood for historical reasons between some nations and so on. The bad blood I can understand...they did this to us in WWI WWII and as soon as they get the chance it will happen again. It's legitimate. The language IMO is less of an issue as who travels or works outside their country manages just fine. The new generation is doing to show their English skills in FB and Instagram. Economical and cultural differences do exist in USA, sometimes you think you are in a different country, and quite a bit of laws are local.
- mrout 9y agoVirtually every educated person in Europe speaks English.
- AlexeyBrin 9y agoMaybe you meant every young, as in under 40, educated person in Europe speaks English. Plenty of educated people in Eastern Europe speak/read French and Russian. Until the '90s French was the main foreign language taught in countries like Romania, Bulgaria and most countries under Soviet influence. English was introduced later, usually after the fall of the Soviet Union.
- mrout 9y agoI did mean educated person under 40, yeah. sorry.
- Boothroid 9y agoIt's a mixed picture though isn't it? I mean France and Germany may be fine but the same cannot be said for southern EU, which has decades long, seemingly intractable economic difficulties e.g. Mezzorgiono. I don't see that the EU has magically transformed such regions, and I suppose you can argue about the EU's ability to influence such situations, but on the other hand I don't think the Euro has helped matters.
- cm2187 9y ago> Had France "fallen," EU would have been toast. Actually it wouldn't have been. What most people will discover (though I think most French nationals are well aware), is that the president has very little power in France unless he also controls the parliament. Which Le Pen was guaranteed not to achieve. And which will still be a long shot for Macron. Had Le Pen been elected, she would have been reduced pretty much to the role of a queen of England. With nuclear firepower but very little means to create trouble in the EU.
- easilyBored 9y agoThe idea is not just her election...it's the wave. If people like her ideas, they might give her the parliament that mirrors her ideas.