Our friend Paul Krugman at the (NY) Times has written on the latter
subject a number of times, including this one:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/opinion/30krugman.html
The gist of his argument is I think two issues:
1. Monetary union without true mobility is not feasible (more specific
than "just" political union). If things get bad in Nevada, people can
move elsewhere to look for jobs. If things get bad in Greece, it's not
realistic to expect Greeks to move to and get jobs in Germany.
2. There's been no formal commitment for parts of the EU to bail out
other weaker parts. Again, if things are bad in Nevada, the Feds have
an opportunity/obligation to assist with funds collected from the
entire nation. In Europe, it seems as though everyone hopes Angela
will pick up the tab without similar legislated expectations.
On Aug 9, 2011, at 12:38 PM, Owen Densmore wrote:
I really appreciate our mail list that started 10 yrs or so ago has
become so world-wide. So I'd like to ask two questions which the US
press ignores or misunderstands, and to which my only other regular
source, the Economist, may have a bias.
They are:
- Multiculturalism (MC).
- Euro monitory union without political union.
As I understand it, MC is based on "separate but equal", a horrid
phrase used here during the segregation era, but within europe may
simply be a welcoming phrase meaning "come, and you do not have to
change abruptly to local cultural values". The US has eschewed MC
for "integration", which has its own problems and forces a
generation-long battle with local bigotry. But as difficult as
integration is, it seems to ultimately be successful and avoids the
horrid anomaly I read of: A muslim husband was pardoned by a judge
for beating his wife because MC allows breadth of law to include
muslim practice. All of which I suspect was completely
misunderstood from start to finish!
The euro strikes closer to home, and as I mentioned earlier, I fear
is the real financial problem we face. But I feel doomed by the
euro debt problem simply because it's half an economy! I don't
understand how an economic union can exist, at the scale of the EU,
without political unity as well. I know of large trade pacts that
work to some degree, but they can always dissolve, and have power
over their fiscal policy.
So the questions are how can either MC or a non-political euro
work? But broader, I'd like any (sane, reasoned, non-violent, non
slashdot, non snarky [sorry Doug]) insight you may have.
-- Owen
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============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
