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The idea of a united Europe scares me, actually. Whenever there is fiscal union comes the notion that there should be some control over how money is spent. Ger
by cynicalkane 15y ago
The idea of a united Europe scares me, actually.
Whenever there is fiscal union comes the notion that there should be some control over how money is spent. Germany and Greece and Spain and Sweden and Italy and every EU country will want a say. After all, it's "their" money.
So there are going to be fundamental game theory problems unless all these different places can agree how money should be spent--and ideas about how money should be spent are a big, deeply embedded part of culture. If a fiscal union happens I would venture to guess one of the following will happen: one, eternal squabbling; or two, a partial homogenizing of European culture. I don't like either outcome. Differences are good.
No, no amount of high hopes or good feelings will save you from this. I don't understand the urge to yoke societies together in unhelpful ways any more than I get why incompatible people enter bad marriages. It's always been obvious to me that takes more than love to work together, and often people work better together if they intentionally keep their independence.
- jsnell 15y agoI doubt that Norway wants or has any chance of getting a say, due to minor reasons like not being a member of the EU.
- cynicalkane 15y agoThanks, edited. Not sure why I said Norway... probably was thinking of Sweden. Actually, they'd hopefully be smart enough to step out of a fiscal union. Edit: to downvoters: Sweden is part of the EU and so far has been avoiding monetary union through a loophole.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- jarek 15y agoIncidentally, Sweden is not obligated to join the eurozone due to a neat loophole.
- LaGrange 15y agoUh, Switzerland, anyone? Quite a lot of culture difference in a country that has a lot more than just fiscal unity. I'd say, more than in most countries that are a lot bigger, both geographically and by population size. Actually, here in Poland, EU slowly (too slowly) forces us to accept our own cultural diversity. Stop panicking. If our culture was defined by our banking system then we wouldn't have that much of a culture.
- kolinko 15y agoSwitzerland, but also US. Some Europeans tend to see U.S. as a monolith while in reality they're quite diverse - the difference between New York and Nevada is as big as between Poland and Spain.
- LaGrange 15y agoWell, yes, I realized that soon after posting, didn't want to go back and make a post flood though. Also, I'd be surprised if this wasn't true for every sufficiently big country. I'm almost sure it's true for China, and that's even though their government isn't exactly the most supportive of cultural differentiation.
- jberryman 15y ago> If a fiscal union happens I would venture to guess one of the following will happen: one, eternal squabbling; or two, a partial homogenizing of European culture. I don't like either outcome. Differences are good. Aren't a more homogenous culture and some amount of quibbling a small price to pay for a Europe where war between nations is inconceivable? I mean isn't that the far scarier outcome that was one of the motivating factors behind creation of the Eurozone/EU?