Europe has a long history of big ideals for a perfect state, served by equally enthusiastic citizens on their way to become better, serving members of the group. Has it ever worked, a fair enough question to ask. I’ll try to restrain myself, but find myself unable to hide the ugly facts.
The northern half of continental Europe has a collectivist tradition: good people pay for those in need. This ideal was sustained by several philosophies throughout history, from feudalism, then absolutism, towards socialism, fascism, communism and now we have arrived at the social democratic welfare state that strives towards a Europe-wide monetary unification. Whether the citizens’ money really arrives at those in genuine need and whether they need it at all, remains obscure, but that is equally traditional. Not necessarily this urge to pay is supported by hard, or rather said successfully income generating activities, but this danger is averted by protective collective measures to sustain a certain wealth among tax payers. There’s no evidence that a Northern European necessarily is a harder worker than his Southern counterpart… famous performance-oriented people exist there too and Northern Europe has its own kingsize non-working class. The danger of such structure is that it doesn’t tolerate newcomers with different solidarity traditions like immigrants or: economic unification with other states. Southern Europe, too, has a solidarity tradition of sustaining the worker in danger with legislation. But it doesn’t have a tradition of paying. Paying anything, not just taxes. Therefore, in the past, if a company wanted to deliver to ‘Italy’, this could only be done by guaranteed payment, like letters of credit. I remember those L/C’s well. Those are the days when Europe used to restrict its dreams to a more realistic level.
But now, Italy, Greece, Portugal and others like those are members of the happy EU-family and that automatically brought them to the next level of good tax payers. Like communism made all workers caring and sharing equal people. Southern Europe continued its stroll on the sunlit boulevard on Northern Europe’s money. And Germany, Holland, Ireland, France, Finland and Belgium are the only Northern European states willing to participate in this adventure. Furthermore, countries now willing to participate in the euro are those who may have same agendas as Greece: little to offer, but great willingness to take. As ugly as it is: this is what it is in truth. How to solve the problem? In the solidarity tradition and then pay the poor things’ debts? Or accept the inevitable before it gets any worse: take our loss and get rid of the euro… because the stupid thing has become a goal in itself. I’m afraid it has to be the latter solution. Any other solution isn’t possible anymore, as Southern Europe is in too deep now. That’s also what good business is about: accepting your loss before it’s too late and accepting that some things will never change because they are innate. Even when Southern Europe will pay its debts, it will always be ‘different’.
Europe must rethink some of humanity’s core values. What is corruption? Is corruption just upperclass, or is simply asking money for non-performance, like lifelong unemployment benefits and pensions, a better name for small man’s corruption? What is debt? A stimulus to work harder, or really a certain road to lender enslavement? As long as Europe (and America too!) doesn’t want to reconsider the idea of only spending what you truly have, it will be indebted and: corrupt.
However: it’s been noble to give certain countries the benefit of the doubt. Those countries have been helped with fortunes, they need no further help. They’ve had a great kickstart! At least it’s been tried without prejudice and we’ve seen with our own eyes that people(s) are different.
@HM