Just so you know, history is finally over, for real this time. Like, seriously.
perhaps Europe’s 50th birthday should be an occasion to halt the hyperbole. European co-operation began as a practical economic project, not a spiritual one. That is as it should be. The Enlightenment has taught us that enlightened self-interest often produces the highest value.
The most inspiring thing about the EU is the mobility of its citizens, the way Europeans can live and work anywhere they want in Europe. Let there be more Polish builders in Paris, British designers in Berlin, French entrepreneurs in London.
One of the great ironies of the past few decades is the way that London, the capital of a nation that rejected so many European dreams, has become the great European metropolis. People are coming from all over Europe because London offers them freedom to pursue their dreams. These are frequently materialistic and sometimes even base, but altogether they make up something that, for want of a better word, might be called a European soul.
The European soul is where the highest value is (or is it the basest?) How enlightened.
