[lbo-talk] blog post: a nation in decline, part 2: signs of distress

James Heartfield Heartfield at blueyonder.co.uk
Tue Sep 7 09:52:58 PDT 2010


'IMHO, the most interesting political innovation since the creation of the UN is the creation of the EU - regardless of what one may think of certain EU policies. I mean, the EU is the first ever created confederacy of independent states - and formed by mutual consensus of all participants rather than by a hegemonic force. Not seeing the innovative character of that development smacks of British insularism and Europhobia :).'

There is innovation in the EU, and I would not and do not dismiss Europe's importance. Still, there is more wrong with the EU than its policies. The motor of European integration is a retreat from active political engagement. The 'mutual consensus' is an agreement amongst officials, not between peoples, who are pointedly unengaged in the whole process.



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