Posted on 06/05/2005 6:52:55 AM PDT by Semper Paratus
BEWARE OF first impressions, especially when it comes to European political debate. Yes, the French and Dutch public have dealt a mighty blow to the prospect of a binding constitution for all of Europe, casting doubt on the future of the European Dream.
But the French and Dutch vote on the constitution was complicated, as is usually the case with European politics. Clearly, the far right was successful in mobilizing the anti-immigrant and nationalist sentiment by arguing that a united Europe would mean opening up the floodgates to cheap foreign labor and encourage an unwelcome onslaught of Muslim immigrants.
More eurocentrism would also mean a rethinking of French and Dutch sovereignty and influence, both on the continent and in the world.
The Socialist vote, on the other hand, was more interesting, especially in France, and suggests the possibility, that the European Dream, may be entering a new stage of maturation, with profound implications for the future of Europe. Many French socialists say they voted ''no" on the constitution, not because they favored a looser Europe, but rather a more integrated Europe. They feared that the constitution put too much emphasis on the go-it-alone, liberal, winner-take-all Anglo-American market model at the expense of undermining the vision of a cohesive European social-market economy based on the European Dream of inclusivity, cultural diversity, quality of life, maintaining an adequate social net, sustainable development, social and universal human rights, and peace.
While the new constitution would facilitate market reforms, already agreed to by the French and every other EU member state as far back as the signing of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 the treaty makes clear that Europe's commitment to a social-market economy is set in stone and is, indeed, the heart and soul of the European political experiment.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
Only 62 words into the article, mostly 2-4 letter words at that, and the wheels fall off.
Who'd a thunk that adopting a constitution would get complicated by politics? These socialists are sooooo sophisticated.
Delusion is a totally inadequat world.
It is telling that this is from the "pro-homo-marriage-socialist-touting-we-love-the-ussr-communist-anti-family" boston globe. This is a NYT class paper comming to the spin rescue of the EU.
This is just covering up the truth. The simmering problems are now going to start bubling up.
If you read this, http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1416869/posts the problems are not going to be paper based. They are going to use bullets to solve the problems which have been toilet papered over with the faux union.
Oh brother, delusional is right (er left. No, moderate, lets just say do post-modern). The only "maturation" that is going to help is the realization that socialism is an unworkable societal model in a world of finite resources.
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This is the Boston Globe's dream as well. For America.
That's Jeremy Rifkin for you. If it weren't for a dedicated bunch of ideologues controlling what gets published, this joker couldn't get space in his local "Advertiser".
What's a measly election to a liberal. There are ways to get around that . . . Do I hear RECOUNT!!!???
And yet the left will complain endlessly that Iraq "still" hasn't adopted a contitution after having a govenment in place for nearly six(6) months.
Another writer who is probably heavily invested in Euro currency...
The citizens of Europe have never debated political issues before.
This is the beginning of European cross-class political debate.
The French want even more control of their lives than they have now, by unelected persons in Brussels. Rifkin calls it "integration" rather than central control.
Now, when European leaders want ratification of the Constitution that will set in stone both more "liberal" markets and "social"(ist) markets, is the time that they should all rejoice that the debate about whether or not they should do it is beginning.
National "containers" are inherently bad economically.
Socialism, especially international socialism, works.
But I guess the statement that got me going was this one:
Finally, lest we prematurely write off the French and Dutch ''no" vote as the beginning of the end for a greater European political experiment, remember that it took America nearly 100 years, and a bloody civil war, before our own Constitution was fully accepted by the citizens of very diverse and often differing states.
The ignorance of this paragraph is astonishing. It might be debatable that it was not "fully accepted" only if the Constitution were not amendable, or if the original 13 colonies had not ratified it, or if the states formed and admitted afterward had not agreed to observing it. This is Rifkin's ultimate silliness.
Jeremy Rifkin is the author of ''The European Dream: How Europe's Vision of the Future is Quietly Eclipsing the American Dream." This being the case, Rifkin has to believe this stuff, of course.
Rifkin has made a career out of buzzing around lefty trends like a fly at a manure pile. This soaring piece of rhetoric however crosses the threshold into the political equivalent of Michael Jackson's Neverland.
Blimey. Is he angling for a job with Chirac?
Regards, Ivan
I think it was Glenn Reynolds that said the other day: You can't go far wrong by betting against Jeremy Rifkin. He is perhaps the world's leading contraindicator.
"...social and universal human rights"? What can that possibly mean? Does Rifkin get paid by the word?
Wonder what his reccomendations are for energy based equities?
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LOL! Sounds like it, doesn't it?
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