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I personally think that alone European countries have zero chances to survive this century without becoming either American, Russian or Chinese puppets. Countri
by qalmakka 6y ago
I personally think that alone European countries have zero chances to survive this century without becoming either American, Russian or Chinese puppets. Countries like the UK and France are still riding what's left of centuries of influence and prestige on world affairs, but the last 7 decades quite clearly show that single countries can't defend themselves and their democracies from foreign interests without cooperation. It's also quite clear to me that the European economy is so integrated that's almost ridiculous to think that every country could be free to do as it pleases, because if for instance Italy fails, then all of Europe fails.
That's why I think we need more integration; to me, the freedom and security of European citizens is synonymous with European cooperation and integration. Together, we've one of the biggest armies and economies of the world, and we stand a chance to mean something on the world stage. This doesn't mean that the current EU is necessarily the right way to achieve this; ironically, I think most of its issues arise from the fact it is not powerful enough, and single states have too much sway in how the union operates, similar to how the USA were when the first Articles of Confederation were written in the XVIII century.
- jpcooper 6y agoThere seem to be fair economic arguments either way. I am undecided on Brexit either way. I haven’t researched it enough. My point is more abstract: A lot of people forget the underlying economic motives of all countries in their interactions with each other.
- krona 6y agoI'm curious as to kind of integration you're referring to. On paper, monetary union has prevented the economic integration from happening. The diverse economies of the EU are diverging; the north is reliant on export markets outside the EU, while the south is destined for decades of internal devaluation, even in a best-case scenario. Does this help social integration, or does it foster mass resentment rooted fundamentally in cultural differences being amplified?
- dundarious 6y agoPolitical integration may have been the suggestion, though the 2008 and 2020 crises have not seen an increased push for such a political union, so I think it is extremely unlikely. Yanis Varoufakis wrote about this here in 2014, in particular he gives his interpretation of why monetary union alone was doomed to fail: https://www.yanisvaroufakis.eu/2014/08/29/why-is-europe-not-coming-together-in-response-to-the-euro-crisis/ https://www.yanisvaroufakis.eu/2014/08/29/why-is-europe-not-...
- tpm 6y agoThe integration is happening between regions, not between states, because with (even still imperfect) free movement of people, goods and capital national borders lose their meaning. Is northern Italy part of the north or of the south? Does rural Poland have more common with Warszava or with rural Czechia?