New Europe Gets it Right

[mylexicon]

It's the same debate we had when we were just 13 colonies......

Granted our colonies didn't have the history that Europe has but
I still think the situations are pretty similar.

I do worry about loss of sovereignty and individuality of the nations
participating because our country fought a civil war over such issues. But I don't see civil war on Europe's horizon and for the most part Americans
have maintained some cultural individuality despite substantial loss of
state sovereignty. People in Texas are still different from Southern California, and New Yorkers are still different from people in the Mid-West.

[Lrn]

yea but (US) states' rights are complety subservent to federal law, and that does not include the hundreds of thousands that died becasue of the "issuse "resolved in the civil war. i think there will be a point where some EU members will question the path of total soverenign independence they give up to the greater Union power. remeber the people of texas and ny have the ability to vote for their state representatives. frenchmen, germans and all the other EU memebers dont get to vote for the elites that contol the internatinal path of the EU. im not trying to start shit but i feel the questions of democratic representation and redefintion of sovereinty are the main arguments that question EU.

[Yao]

Lrn, you're right about that.

The only reason it hasn't really started full scale, it that they're taking it really slowly. One step at a time. But the idea of a united Europe has been spread for so long already here, that most people think it's inevitable.

Given all the scandals surrounding the EU-commssion right now, I don't really advocate a union at this point. We're not ready for it, and there's too many corrupt people working for themselves rather than the greater cause right now.

the Euro is still acceptable, but giving up sovereignty?

[Lrn]

i study political science here in the us and i dont really get the sense of what the people like yourself as part of the union, think about the direction the EU is taking. im not sure what sandals are surounding the commision right now, maybe you can tell me.

[thesightless]

maybe we need to look at a globe, realize we are stuck on it unless you are an astronaut from USA or russia, and then think about a world union.................
1 currency
1 main economy
1 military
1 unity..

[Lrn]

maybe we need to look at a globe, realize we are stuck on it unless you are an astronaut from USA or russia, and then think about a world union.................
1 currency
1 main economy
1 military
1 unity..

a global community is the goal, but tell that to the us and northe korea

[mylexicon]

global government is quite possibly the worst shit ever. Unless it is anarchy
or some type of U.S. colonial style government, it will never make allowances
for minorities. This whole terrorist bs we are dealing with right now is
because certain ethnic minorities don't want to participate in global
economy and all global secular union they believe already exists.

Normally I would support them but somehow Islamic fundamentalists
managed to completely fuck themselves by resorting to unwarranted
violence and oppression of their own people.

If we are really the tolerant and progressive world we say we are, we
shouldn't need to globalize.

[Lrn]

If we are really the tolerant and progressive world we say we are, we
shouldn't need to globalize.

the reason why we see this world as a single entity today is becasue of gloablization. it is essential for the majority of nations in this world to continue on the path of global interdependence for both economic and political reasons.

[mylexicon]

the reason we see this world as a single entity is because of the communication
and media revolution of the late 20th century. Because we can
communicate with people everywhere at any time and observe their
behaviors and cultures we are more aware they exist.

Globalization is such a tiny and unimportant notion held by the richest,
most educated 5-10% of the world's population. Not to mention "globalization"
as we know it today has nothing to do with government harmonization,
but rather with the removal of economic barriers.

The idea is that the free market will dictate contact between everyone
in this world, and in order for the free market to function barriers have
to be removed. The only reason it looks like globalization is because
every country has the most ridiculous nationalistic protectionist policies.
We spend years in GATT rounds trying to get one another to throw them
out, but all that ends up happening is we invent many new watered-down
versions of our old laws.

It's a waste of time. Lead by example; let the rest of the world decide
what they like about your system and then let them mimick it.

[Lrn]

Globalization is such a tiny and unimportant notion held by the richest,
most educated 5-10% of the world's population. Not to mention "globalization"
as we know it today has nothing to do with government harmonization,
but rather with the removal of economic barriers.

im sorry i disagree with that on some many levels i dont even know where to start. tell the people that made your computer in some shit hole of a country that globalization does not effect them and look at all the crap palstic shit thats around you and tell me that globalization doesnt effect little chinese children laving over our american consumer goods. and wtf? the way economic barriers are lowered is through diplomacy and treaties.....if its not harmonization (on the smallest level), then why does the us have so many trade sanctions? ...(becasue the us doent keep it chill with a lot of onther countries) im not pissed, its just really how i think...please dont take it personaly

[mylexicon]

I'm not offended......many people think the same way you do b/c they
don't know about international trade or the global movement.

In 1997 global trade was once again as big and important as it was in 1914. Yes, 1914 is not a typo. WWI and WWII threw us into the economic dark ages---national boundaries, protectionism, and the red scare
ruled the earth. We are just now matching the specialization and
global trade levels of those days. Between WWI and today nearly all
GDP growth has been handled domestically b/c everyone was afraid of
working with other countries. Within the last 10 years we and other
developed nations have been optimistic about the potential of working
with other developing nations and exploring new business ventures that
move beyond exploiting their cheap labor. "Globalization" as we know it
today is nothing more than a rallying cry to reverse the dumb shit
the entire world did between 1914 and 1997. It's nothing new.....it's nothing
special. It is unimportant and irrelevant. Globalization will occur
naturally as it did the centuries before the great world wars.......but it
won't happen naturally unless people stop trying to force it. And it won't
happen until people learn that we have made very little progress since
1914 cracking the economic protectionism found in the U.S., Europe, and
the rest of the free world. And furthermore, globalization will never happen
until people realize the developed countries can't get rid of protectionism
because they spend too much goddam money on too few people.

K the situation isn't really that desparate, but it will be if people don't
learn how to interact with one another absent of laws and global government.

[glucksmann]

Hoorah for New Europe . . . anything that pisses off the French is fine by me

I hate the fucking french... I have family in paris, their cool, but the rest of them you might as well line them up right next to sadam hussein in the firing range!