Hardt & Negri's *Empire*

[GGordonLippy at aol.com]

I don't get your question, Dennis. What do *you* think the European Union is? 
I'm assuming you're talking about what I used to know as the EEC? Isn't that 
actually a good example of the tendency toward Empire? Where does sovereignty 
reside in the European Union? What are the powers of the various states in 
relation to the Union? Are they facing problems similar to what I've 
described, ie companies suing governments for violating broader, non 
democratically constructed agreements? Doesn't economic unification in Europe 
reflect a kind of "no alternative" movement, more of the triumph of 
neo-liberalism and the end of History? Why are the few remaining countries 
outside the union fighting so bitterly to stay out? What about the coercive 
policies forcing austerity upon certain nations in order to join?

Maybe these are your points in the first place. I was looking at NAFTA and 
American cases on WTO because I'm basically an Americanist by concentration. 
Or maybe you're talking about something else altogether. In what sense is the 
European Union an agent of liberation? I would find some examples helpful.