The Slow Death of Europe The european union, in turning its back on imperialism, has been ahead of its time for decades — and for that it risks fading into obsolescence.
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hat is the Old World? What is the New World? Until recently, the answer to both questions has been obvious. The United States is the New World, the “land of the free,” settled and founded by people who left a Europe full of political repression, economic backwardness and cultural decadence. In comparison, Europe is the Old World — an entire continent that divided and destroyed itself during two world wars. Initially, the relationship
between the two provided fodder for a few jokes. Henry James, the American literary giant who relocated to Europe, wrote in his 1878 novel “The Europeans” about an encounter between dynamic, nouveau riche Americans and culturally wealthy, ossified Europeans, which leads to some amusing situations. In the novel, James didn’t just portray the differences between the Old and the New, he also anticipated the transAtlantic alliance. Since then, however, the world has turned. The New has
grown old and the Old has reinvented itself.
ROBERT MENASSE Austrian novelist and cultural critic whose writings in recent years have centered on the European Union and globalization CREDIT: Leonhard Foeger/Reuters
CREDIT: Joel Saget/Agence FrancePresse - Getty Images
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The idea of the European unification project, which led to the European Union of today, is the New — the politically sui generis. It is a logical yet radical conclusion drawn from historical experience, and it makes possible (or would make possible) a future of freedom and peace instead of cyclical suffering. The rooting of this idea in the soil of Europe more than 60 years ago has proved to be a greater leap for mankind than the moon landing. What made the European project revolutionary was that for the first time Europe wasn’t seeking to Europeanize the world, but rather itself. In so doing, it could become — as an experimental project with a foundation of enlightenment — the avant-garde for a peaceful world. The “could,” though, is the problem. The difference between idea and implementation in Europe has become just as large as the gap between the beauty of the United States Constitution and the extensive hardship
