Is "Old Europe" Doomed?
In the new issue of Cato Unbound, Theodore Dalrymple considers the question, with some insights into how stasis feeds more stasis. Replies will follow from Charles Kupchan, Timothy B. Smith, and Anne Applebaum.
What exactly is it that Europeans fear, given that their decline has been accompanied by an unprecedented increase in absolute material well-being? An open economy holds out more threat to them than promise: they believe that the outside world will bring them not trade and wealth, but unemployment and a loss of comfort. They therefore are inclined to retire into their shell and succumb to protectionist temptation, both internally with regard to the job market, and externally with regard to other nations. And the more those other nations advance relative to themselves, the more necessary does protection seem to them. A vicious circle is thus set up.
This is the third issue of Cato Unbound, edited by the very smart Brink Lindsey and Will Wilkinson. The previous issue featured a provocative, multifaceted essay by Jaron Lanier about the "Anti-goras" and "Semi-goras" that typify Internet commerce and the fundamentally cultural nature of the Net. If it were easy to summarize, it wouldn't be so valuable to read. If, like me, you missed it a month ago, check it out now.
Cato Unbound's format is an interesting experiment with fostering serious thought in a web-based publication and a refreshing alternative to the snarky quick bites so common in print and online. I look forward to reading more.