Walter Lacqueur on Europe's decline

Penguin · 08-01-13, 11:46 AM

To me, Laqueur shows a trait which historians should avoid: looking at history through his own socio-economical and political spectacles. He completely leaves out half of Europe's population, basically the whole East. I wonder how many folks from Prague would prefer to party like it's 1968. This shows also in his preferred choice of eopoche. Yeah, living at the fin de siecle in Paris would mean admiring the Tour D'Eiffel – while you are busy on your way back from a 12h workday avoiding the crap and corpses on the streets, as this has been the reality for the common people back in the days.

This being said, much of the frustration Euros have comes from the Leviathan-like nature of the beast EU. It started as an economic union and kept this nature till today. A lack of democratic praticipation plus centralism adds towards this feeling of alienation. I guess most people here have nothing against living peacefully with their neighboring nations, but a union which values its currency more than its citizens can't expect to win hearts and minds of the latter.

The question if Europe should develop its own version of the Monroe Doctrine or engage itself in conflicts all over the world is still out there. Personally, I'm in favour of the first, with some very limited exceptions.

Quote:

Originally Posted by August

Europeans, aside from the British are the most negative group of nancy boys I have ever seen.

- just as Americans are uneducated, Stetson-wearing fatso Palin worshippers, Africans are lazy lying around in the sun, when they're not busy killing each other, East Asians are mindless work drones and Aussies are too drunk to realize in what hellish place they live – surrounded by the deadliest of each species in the animal kingdom. Don't get me even started on those crazy Indians or Middle Easterners with all their funny religious stuff.

Nah man, you're totally wrong in your assumptions about Europe: the Brits are the mostest negative folks here – and they have the weather and food to support this!