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Of course Steyn used generalities and stereotypes. He exagerated to expose the Euro's own generalizations and stereotypes about Israel and the US, pretty effectively IMO.

Personally, I like the Euros, Paris being just about my favorite place in the world. Western civilization is the great acheivment of reformation and renaissance Europe, although now in decay there.

That said, the Euro welfare state is creating a serious problem. With few exceptions (Britian has done a reasonably good job)the Euros have refused to reform their labor laws, which has resulted in unemployment persisting around 10%, even during the boom. So most Euro countries have able bodied men on long term welfare and unemployment benefits. Not good for the long term stability of their societies.

Even more worrying is the Euro drift toward a continental authoritarian regime in the EU. Since Charlamagne every attempt to impose a European-wide state has been defeated by nation states, which have been the guarantors of European liberty. Britain was instrumental in defeating attempts by Phillip of Spain, Napoleon and Hitler to dominate Europe. As the last issue of the Economist opined, now is they time for the Euros to decide if the EU will remain an economic union or if they will try to forge a European state. The next ten years will be crucial.

I appreciate you taking a more considered interest in current affairs then most on this site. Yet, the arguments you put forward have been in circulation (mostly in Europe itself, of course) for at least ten years. There is something deeper happening. There are various strains of European development: Eurocrats of the left and right-wing type all enjoying their power; somewhat more principled socialists who would like to see a 'social Europe' including state-sponsored bottle-banks to save the environment; businessmen who have seen and still see their companies grow on the back of the single market to world dominance; conservatives who dislike the EU but are in favor of a European market in the loose sense of the word; the European parliament sending the Commission home because of fraud, due to a Dutch whistle-blower I am happy to report; the bourses of Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam merging into one bourse which has just bought Liffe, the futures exchange in London. Get me right: I do not like the EU. But again, to portray it in simple terms as a battle between socialism and capitalism is lunacy. It misses the point entirely.

There is no such thing as 'European unemployment'. Dutch unemployment stands at 2%, the lowest in the Western world. Believe it or not, it happens to be the truth. Droning on about flexible labor markets is fine, but it will not happen. An Irishman will not go looking for a job in Italy at the age of 50. It is just not going to happen. Would you move to MExico to find a job if you lost yours at the age of 50? Maybe you would, but you would be one of the few.

The idea that somehow England is not a welfare-state and a shining exception to the European rule is such a fallacy, I do not know where to begin. If I get the sack today, I will be able to live in my flat in the most expensive area of town, paid for by the government. This would never happen in Holland. Just an example, but it may show you that things are a little more complicated than often portrayed.