T
he idea of a unified Europe didn’t
always elicit the current mixture of
exasperation, boredom, and rage,
in politicians and ordinary people
alike. In fact, there was a time when
the European Union seemed like a great
initiative, especially on a continent rav-
aged first by two hot wars, then broken
in half by a cold one. A permanent peace
between neighboring nations founded
on a common market and sealed with
freedom of movement for all might have
required bureaucratic impositions, but
it also functioned as an insurance policy.
Besides, there was something for every-
one in this new idea of Europe. Students,
through Erasmus programs, learned new
languages and made friends in foreign
countries. Blue-collar workers could go
abroad for better jobs. Manufacturers
could import and export goods with no
fees and less paperwork. Children ofthe European elite found positions in
Strasbourg and Brussels. Billionaires no
longer had to worry about the power
of their country’s home currency while
vacationing in Courchevel or Monaco.
That isn’t to say the union would be
problem-free: Unresolved conflicts be-
tween national sovereignty and a supra-
national bureaucracy were baked into its
very structure. And the EU never totally
figured out a unified fiscal policy, or how it
would deal with large-scale bank failures.
Indeed, it took until the financial crisis ofAtossa Araxia Abrahamian is a journalist
and the author of The Cosmopolites: The
Coming of the Global Citizen.
SAVING THE SACRED COW
by ATOSSA ARAXIA ABRAHAMIAN
Yanis Varoufakis’s vision for a more democratic Europe
Books & the Arts.
ILLUSTRATION BY JOE CIARDIELLO