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and the winners are ... huh ... While I was searching for one of my old manu- scripts, the October 31, 1988 issue of Newsweek popped up from the same folder. The front cover of the issue announces a special report on the up- coming birth of European Union. And that was over four years ahead of December 31, 1992, the date set up for the 12 European nations to merge into a "single market". The report is a rather cautious forecasting, well summarized by a subtitle: "Europe’s economic revolution will produce losers as well as winners". In two decades after that I can recall some glorification of EU, The European Dream by Jeremy Rifkin (2004) in particular where the subtitle is: "How Europe’s vision of the future is quietly eclipsing the American dream". The current status of the affairs I won’t elaborate here, certainly you are aware of it, it’s looming from every possible aspect. However, let me point out one interesting suggestion. By a coincidence, just hours apart from the encounter with the old issue of Newsweek, I’ve read To Save the Euro, Leave It by K.C. Griffin and A.K. Kashyap (NY Times, June 27, 2012). The authors argue that an almost inconceiv- able solution is for Germany to reintroduce the mark, which would cause the euro to immediately decline in value. Such a devaluation would give troubled economies, especially those of Greece, Italy and Spain, the financial flexibility they need to stabilize themselves. Well, currency devaluations are not the path to prosperity but, the authors argue, the tremendous loss of human capital and human dignity we are witnessing would ease. Germany alone, although deeply unfair to ordinary Germans, has the ability to end a dysfunctional |
monetary union which may bring prosperity to Europe. Just remember - any Europe’s economic revolution will produce losers as well as winners. |
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