[Marxism] Perry Anderson on the European Union

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

LRB | Vol. 29 No. 18 dated 20 September 2007

Depicting Europe
Perry Anderson

An epiphany is beguiling Europe. Far from dwindling in historical 
significance, the Old World is about to assume an importance for 
humanity it has never, in all its days of dubious past glory, before 
possessed. At the end of Postwar, his 800-page account of the continent 
since 1945, the historian Tony Judt exclaims at ‘Europe’s emergence in 
the dawn of the 21st century as a paragon of the international virtues: 
a community of values . . . held up by Europeans and non-Europeans alike 
as an exemplar for all to emulate’.1 The reputation, he assures us, is 
‘well-earned’. The same vision grips the seers of New Labour. Why Europe 
Will Run the 21st Century declaims the title of a manifesto by Mark 
Leonard, the party’s foreign policy wunderkind.2 ‘Imagine a world of 
peace, prosperity and democracy,’ he enjoins the reader. ‘What I am 
asking you to imagine is the “New European Century”.’ How will this 
entrancing prospect come about? ‘Europe represents a synthesis of the 
energy and freedom that come from liberalism with the stability and 
welfare that come from social democracy. As the world becomes richer and 
moves beyond satisfying basic needs such as hunger and health, the 
European way of life will become irresistible.’ Really? Absolutely. ‘As 
India, Brazil, South Africa and even China develop economically and 
express themselves politically, the European model will represent an 
irresistibly attractive way of enhancing their prosperity whilst 
protecting their security. They will join with the EU in building “a New 
European Century”.’

Not to be outdone, the futurologist Jeremy Rifkin – American by birth, 
but by any standards an honorary European: indeed a personal adviser to 
Romano Prodi when he was president of the European Commission – has 
offered his guide to The European Dream.3 Seeking ‘harmony, not 
hegemony’, he tells us, the EU ‘has all the right markings to claim the 
moral high ground on the journey towards a third stage of human 
consciousness. Europeans have laid out a visionary road map to a new 
promised land, one dedicated to reaffirming the life instinct and the 
Earth’s indivisibility.’ After a lyrical survey of this route – typical 
staging-posts: ‘Government without a Centre’, ‘Romancing the Civil 
Society’, ‘A Second Enlightenment’ – Rifkin, warning us against 
cynicism, concludes: ‘These are tumultuous times. Much of the world is 
going dark, leaving many human beings without clear direction. The 
European Dream is a beacon of light in a troubled world. It beckons us 
to a new age of inclusivity, diversity, quality of life, deep play, 
sustainability, universal human rights, the rights of nature, and peace 
on Earth.’

full: http://www.lrb.co.uk/v29/n18/ande01_.html

________________________________________________
YOU MUST clip all extraneous text before replying to a message.
Send list submissions to: Marxism@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism