Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Economy
In reply to the discussion: STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Wednesday, 5 June 2013 [View all]Demeter
(85,373 posts)6. Prisoners of the Euro By ROSS DOUTHAT
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/02/opinion/sunday/douthat-prisoners-of-the-euro.html?_r=2&
TO its custodians and admirers, the European Union is the only force standing between its member states and the age-old perils of chauvinism, nationalism and war. That was the pointed message that the Nobel Committee sent last year, when it awarded the union a Peace Prize for its role in the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights. And it is the message hammered home relentlessly by the Continents politicians, who believe their citizens face a stark choice, in the words of Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, between continued integration and a return to centuries of hatred and blood spill.
But right now, the E.U. project isnt advancing democracy, liberalism and human rights. Instead, it is subjecting its weaker member states to an extraordinary test of their resilience, and conducting an increasingly perverse experiment in seeing how much stress liberal norms can bear.
That stress takes the form of mass unemployment unseen in the history of modern Europe, and mass youth unemployment that is worse still. In the Continents sick-man economies, the jobless rate for those under 25 now staggers the imagination: over 40 percent in Italy, over 50 percent in Spain, and over 60 percent in Greece.
For these countries, the euro zone is now essentially an economic prison, with Germany as the jailer and the common currency as the bars. No matter what happens, they face a future of stagnation as aging societies with expensive welfare states whose young people will sit idle for years, unable to find work, build capital or start families. The question is whether they will face ideological upheaval as well. So far, the striking thing about the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, both in Europe and the United States, is how successfully the center has held. Power has passed back and forth between left and right, but truly radical movements have found little traction, and political violence has been mercifully rare...
I F YOU DON'T COUNT THE PROTEST, RIOTS, CRIME RATE INCREASES, EMIGRATION AND SUICIDES...
TO its custodians and admirers, the European Union is the only force standing between its member states and the age-old perils of chauvinism, nationalism and war. That was the pointed message that the Nobel Committee sent last year, when it awarded the union a Peace Prize for its role in the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights. And it is the message hammered home relentlessly by the Continents politicians, who believe their citizens face a stark choice, in the words of Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, between continued integration and a return to centuries of hatred and blood spill.
But right now, the E.U. project isnt advancing democracy, liberalism and human rights. Instead, it is subjecting its weaker member states to an extraordinary test of their resilience, and conducting an increasingly perverse experiment in seeing how much stress liberal norms can bear.
That stress takes the form of mass unemployment unseen in the history of modern Europe, and mass youth unemployment that is worse still. In the Continents sick-man economies, the jobless rate for those under 25 now staggers the imagination: over 40 percent in Italy, over 50 percent in Spain, and over 60 percent in Greece.
For these countries, the euro zone is now essentially an economic prison, with Germany as the jailer and the common currency as the bars. No matter what happens, they face a future of stagnation as aging societies with expensive welfare states whose young people will sit idle for years, unable to find work, build capital or start families. The question is whether they will face ideological upheaval as well. So far, the striking thing about the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, both in Europe and the United States, is how successfully the center has held. Power has passed back and forth between left and right, but truly radical movements have found little traction, and political violence has been mercifully rare...
I F YOU DON'T COUNT THE PROTEST, RIOTS, CRIME RATE INCREASES, EMIGRATION AND SUICIDES...
Edit history
Please sign in to view edit histories.
40 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
RecommendedHighlight replies with 5 or more recommendations
Fiscal Headwinds: Is the Other Shoe About to Drop? By Brian Lucking and Daniel Wilson
Demeter
Jun 2013
#5
In the Dead Zone of Capitalism: Lessons on the Violence of Inequality from Chicago
Demeter
Jun 2013
#23
STOLEN FROM antigop: WSJ: One of Wall Street's Riskiest Bets Returns (synthetic CDOs)
Demeter
Jun 2013
#27
Considering our forecast for the next 36-48hrs, I'm kinda partial to this >>>>
Roland99
Jun 2013
#36