Dear C.s,
First, an admission. I was a vocal skeptic of the euro and mixed it up a bit with C. Redmond on the subject years ago. I find that I have turned around completely and now endorse virtually his entire position. The tremendous value of these lists is that you get to engage with people smart enough to change your mind.
The more I examined the world of the euro (in order to belittle it, frankly) and found out what a colossus the dollar really is - how it dwarfs all the other currencies. The more I saw how and why the dollar is that colossus. The more I did that, the more I realized that the euro is a fundamentally superior concept, however dominated by the dollar economy it may be at present.
I think the question for Europe is simple: expand the euro money supply at the maximum non-inflationary rate conceivable. Right now the dollar is the international currency de facto. The euro should become the international currency by design. The Europeans will have to get even more creative than they have been. Both the EIB and the ECB will have to become far, far larger, not to mention the euro-based bond and asset-backed securities markets. I also think that Europeans need to temper their well-intentioned and successful statism with a healthy dose of libertarian thinking. I don't see this as a move towards the U.S. but a move past it in ideology.
In the short run, Sweden's vote may be what Brussels needs to get its act together. In the long run, Estonia was right and Sweden was wrong.
peace,
boddi
p.s. - Has Tom Friedman completely lost his mind?