Lately we've been hearing that if the euro currency fails, Europe fails. Shame on me for not losing any sleep over this.
What exactly do they mean 'Europe?' A historian might say that 'Europe' began with Charlemagne. It had barely beaten off an attack from Muslims from North Africa, by way of the Iberian Peninsula. The way Islam was growing, it seemed like it was going to take over the world. Then Europe had to face the depredations of the Northmen. It survived, and even converted those barbarians to its civilization.
Next was the Little Ice Age, and the rise of the Ottoman Turks, who threatened the south and east of Europe for hundreds of years. Let's not forget the Black Death which killed a fourth of Europe.
The religious wars hit hard in the 1500s and early 1600s. Yet Europe survived. It also survived the French Revolution and the Marxist irruption. To top it all off, Europe survived two World Wars over a thirty year time span in the early twentieth century.
Of course, that doesn't mean we should give in to overconfidence, but I think Europe would survive the demise of the euro currency. It's only a decade old; how did Europe survive before the euro? The euro is not absolutely necessary in order to have a free trade zone in Europe.
So who is really threatened by the demise of the euro currency: French-style bureaucrats in Brussels, who think that having a single currency is their ticket to accumulating more power.
What exactly do they mean 'Europe?' A historian might say that 'Europe' began with Charlemagne. It had barely beaten off an attack from Muslims from North Africa, by way of the Iberian Peninsula. The way Islam was growing, it seemed like it was going to take over the world. Then Europe had to face the depredations of the Northmen. It survived, and even converted those barbarians to its civilization.
Next was the Little Ice Age, and the rise of the Ottoman Turks, who threatened the south and east of Europe for hundreds of years. Let's not forget the Black Death which killed a fourth of Europe.
The religious wars hit hard in the 1500s and early 1600s. Yet Europe survived. It also survived the French Revolution and the Marxist irruption. To top it all off, Europe survived two World Wars over a thirty year time span in the early twentieth century.
Of course, that doesn't mean we should give in to overconfidence, but I think Europe would survive the demise of the euro currency. It's only a decade old; how did Europe survive before the euro? The euro is not absolutely necessary in order to have a free trade zone in Europe.
So who is really threatened by the demise of the euro currency: French-style bureaucrats in Brussels, who think that having a single currency is their ticket to accumulating more power.
Comments
If the dollar, Yen or Yuan fails I would not loose any sleep over that either, I could not possible see how it would have even the slightest negative effect on me, for I live on the island of Galapagos, where time has stopped, it might even convert those civilized to barbarians once again.
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"Lately we've been hearing that if the euro currency fails, Europe fails. Shame on me for not losing any sleep over this.
What exactly do they mean 'Europe?' A historian might say that 'Europe' began with Charlemagne. It had barely beaten off an attack from Muslims from North Africa, by way of the Iberian Peninsula. The way Islam was growing, it seemed like it was going to take over the world. Then Europe had to face the depredations of the Northmen. It survived, and even converted those barbarians to its civilization.