Cogito Ergo Non Serviam
Macron Say Europe in Civil War over Liberalism
The French are known for liking a bit of the dramatic, so one takes many things said in Paris with a grain of salt. In speech to the European Parliament, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that conditions in the EU are like a "civil war ... where there is an increasing fascination with illiberalism." That was a mild exaggeration. No armies are in the field after all. However, the threat he sees is very real. "I don't want to belong to a generation of sleepwalkers that has forgotten its own past", he said. No one should.
The roots of the European Project lie in the devastation of two world wars that resulted in the deaths of millions of Europeans. The motivating factor in both conflicts was national pride. The love of the homeland resulted in the destruction of the homeland. In creating a political order for Europe that reined in nationalism, the founders of what is now the EU established the basis for peace on the continent. In reverting to nationalist views, many political parties across Europe are turning back the clock to a much more violent time.
The most recent example is the re-election of a nationalist government in Hungary that now has a 2/3 majority in the legislature and can, therefore, re-write the constitution of the nation in its own image. However, Hungary is far from the only country that has decided that the solution to its problems is to look inward and to blame outsiders. Italy has voted the same way, and Brexit cannot be understood in any other context.
Part of the European Project's problem is that is has been successful. Apart from the collapse of Yugoslavia and the recent Russian adventure in Crimea and eastern Ukraine, Europe has not seen shots fired between armies since 1945. Europe, which used to have to take a decade off every now and then to rebuild, has grown in wealth in part because it hasn't been bombed to bits in a lifetime. Quite simply, people have forgotten how awful to older way was.
Mr. Macron's view is that the European Union is the key to continental peace. Inevitably, there are conflicts among its members, but because of the common commitment to Europe, there are mechanisms in place to resolve any issues before they force governments to back up their hostile words with hostile deeds. Indeed, the EU receives some of the credit for the Good Friday Accords that brought peace to Northern Ireland.
There is certainly a place for local pride in Europe. There is nothing inherently wrong with being proud of one's culture, history and language. But when that love of one's own becomes turned into hatred for others, it is a problem. The difficult thing for most people to accept is that change happens. The Europe (or anywhere else) of a century ago is long gone. Today is every bit as transitory. The world of 2118 will be as different from 2018 as 1918 is different. Clinging to the past won't delay the arrival of the future.
Mr. Macron has proposed that Germany and France lead the EU toward that future. Ironically, these are the two nations that led Europe over the edge in 1914 and 1939. But the European Project needs advocates against the small-mindedness of nationalism. One wishes Britain would stay to fight for the liberal values that owe so much to men like John Locke and Edmund Burke, but that is not to be. A Franco-German liberalism will have to suffice.
© Copyright 2018 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.
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