A matter of CULTURE or PSYCHOLOGY in Europe?
Are the European and more specifically the Euro-zone problems purely a matter of cultural differences, engrained in generations of ‘Nation Staters’ or something deeper in each nation-people’s psychology?
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It cannot purely be a difference of political ideology between the leaders and individual nations of European that has lead us to the brink of the Euro abyss. But, yet maybe the way the debate and challenges facing Europe are being framed, has a great part to play in it.
Europe always seemed to be a halfway house between cultures, trade, ideologies, beliefs and norms. And the fact that the Euro single currency zone was stitched together based on these ‘halfway house’ ideas should therefore not have been a surprise.
How long does it take to build a vision? Or rather, why did Europe take so long to get to the chasm, build a rickety Monetary Union bridge, without firming up the foundations that holds together the infrastructure once the traffic crossing that bridge started increasing in volume?
If there is something Trade theory should have taught us, it must be that once opportunity (to trade and create wealth) is established, the trickle would eventually turn to a steady stream and the steady stream to an eventual throng. Yet not one European leader or institution foresaw this? Takes us full circle to the original question, namely: “How long does it take to build a VISION?”
Image by kevindean via Flickr
The truth might lie somewhere in the nature, establishment and deep rooted psyches of the Europeans themselves. Europe might be the collective noun; yet staunch nation state individualism (the communities we all hunker after) is the actual bedrock and foundation of the people who live in Europe. Unlike the USA, with a common language, full monetary and federal fiscal union, Europe is and will always remain a loosely led together community (but not a collective) of nation states and peoples.
Fairness, freedom, equality and openness, some of the most fundamental tenets of a market and community to function properly, are not necessarily on the agendas when ideological political, rather than economic (for the greater good), issues are considered by both politicians, technocrats and bureaucrats in the institutions and fabric at the heart of a (dis)United Europe.
Therefore, until and unless we can prize Europeans from there deeply held ‘national interest’ debates and frames of reference, in terms of establishing a common and united front; we feel that there is no hope of sustainably solving the Euro-zone sovereign debt and monetary union problems.
A possible mechanism might have to be the establishment of a ‘fourth branch’ of governance, outside the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary, being an outside force or rather an Adjudicator comprised of non dominant European member countries and quite possibly with an Advisory Board consisting of non Europeans themselves, to allow for the establishment of a fair, free and an open implementation of the Legislature’s policy decisions, hence and overseer of the Executive, but an equal to the Judiciary, with a final veto by the citizenry of Europe themselves, as a balancing mechanism, should a stalemate ever arise.
The enabling driver of such an European Adjudicator must surely be the Digital Economy with its various platforms and reach extending now and in the future across the ‘Net’ that is European integration.
theMarketSoul ©2012
Related articles
- Crisis On The Continent (thedailybeast.com)
- What S&P’s Downgrades Mean for the Euro’s Future (curiouscapitalist.blogs.time.com)
- No Country Will Exit the Euro Zone This Year: Jim Rogers (wallstreetpit.com)
- “Euro Zone Crisis is Germany’s Fault” (twistedeconotwist.wordpress.com)
- Euro zone jobless hits highest level since birth of euro – Reuters (reuters.com)
Reflections on January 2012
The team at theMarketSoul have not been busy enough putting blog article out during January 2012; however, it has given us the opportunity to reflect on the goings on in the various regions around the globe.
The themes of this article are:
- Taxation
- Collaboration
The USA
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The only great point of interest was the State of the Union address by President Barack Obama. Again as a liberal statist the theme of taxation and MORE taxation to come down the road for the ‘more’ well-off in society raised its ugly [spectre] head again.
Image by President of the European Council via Flickr
Oh dear! Let us think very hard about something positive to reflect on this month during the kick-off to 2012…
Enough said. Unfortunately the Eurozone crises (yes, several on different fronts) are still dragging on.
We see yet again how difficult it is to undo a few decades worth of the nation state experiments in Europe and bring everyone together under the guide of collaboration, but with no formal overall governance framework in place. The Eurozone crisis, as well as being one of sovereign over indulgence, is also one of a twisted underground power struggle between the European traditional heavy weights.
But, alas, it is all politics in the end and with Standard and Poor and Fitch getting on the downgrade bandwagon during the month, angering politically challenged politicians like Monsieur Sarkozy (French presidential elections coming up in April and May 2012 [two rounds scheduled, if necessary]).
The Middle East
Image by barnoid via Flickr
One matter of interest raised during a panel discussion on the BBC programme DateLine London on 28/01/2012 regarding the tension in the Straits of Hormuz, by Adbel Bari Atwan, is the fact that the entire Iranian issue around nuclear armament is a ‘manufactured’ threat by the USA and Europe. True, with Pakistan, India, Israel, China and Russia being nuclear enabled nations in the region, what difference will one more nation make to this perilous equation? Perception seems to be everything, both in the discourse and actions taken in reshaping the Geo-political order of the post ‘Arabian spring’ Middle East.
Please, just keep collaborating in OPEC; pumping the Black Gold and thus keeping prices lower and stable, for the sake of a stable Global Economy!
theMarketSoul ©2012
Related articles
- Fitch downgrades Italy and Spain (bbc.co.uk)
- Brussels takes control of taxation and spending in eurozone countries (telegraph.co.uk)
- Roundup: Obama’s address focuses on the economy (globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com)
- Middle East Presidential Advisor To Four Presidents Bruce Riedel: Iran Is Not an Existential Threat to Israel or the United States! (politicalvelcraft.org)
- What Eurozone Crisis? (ritholtz.com)
- Report: US to Send “Mothership” to Middle East – Voice of America (blog) (blogs.voanews.com)
- Eurozone crisis: ratings agency downgrades nine countries (newstatesman.com)
Irony and Downgrade Anger
It is with a little amusement that we scanned through the Economic headlines today, following Standard & Poor’s decision to finally downgrade France’s and other Eurozone nation’s Sovereign Debt rating. France lost its prestigious triple A (AAA) grade to AA+.
Sarkozy and French anger? Indeed!
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But the problem is timing as far as Mr Sarkozy is concerned. This is a Presidential election year in France, so this comes as a slight humiliation to Mr Sarkozy. And so it should be! He should be shamed out of office! Therefore, hopefully S&P’s decision will help the voters and tax payers of France sit up and realise that incompetent leadership and decision making in the Eurozone economies now urgently needs to be ‘punished’.
Thank you S&P, for taking this action, because the actions (or rather inaction) of the Eurozone bureaucracy and leadership so far in addressing the root causes of the multiple crises, is continuing to drag the global recovery off course.
Decisions to circumvent exiting (inadequate) European Institutional frameworks and pulling the wool over European Citizens eyes over the inadequate administrative burdens the bureaucrats have imposed on its Citizenry must finally come to an end.
Image by slolee via Flickr
Hopefully, we’ll see some slightly more competent new faces in the Eurozone leadership pool and summit photo call line ups very soon… Innovation in Europe might have to start with a new set of leaders?
Image via Wikipedia
theMarketSoul ©2012
Related articles
- Eurozone crisis: ratings agency downgrades nine countries (newstatesman.com)
- French president Nicolas Sarkozy sends his PM to face cameras after credit rating is downgraded (dailymail.co.uk)
- French PM vows reforms after ratings downgrade (ctv.ca)
- It’s Official: S&p Announces Mass Downgrade of Eurozone Countries (tarpon.wordpress.com)
- France to pursue reforms after downgrade (thehindu.com)
- AAA No More: Credit Downgrade Hits France (npr.org)
- Credit rating slashed, France promises reforms (csmonitor.com)
