These signs are adding up to a bleak mood in some circles. Some talk of a "decline of the West". They compare it to the "rise of the rest", comprising of China, India, Brazil... It is sunset versus sunrise...Others think that it is only Europe facing trouble. They warn of a "G2" taking power at the global level, meaning the US and China, thus leaving Europe and other actors out.

Let me say straight away that I consider these conclusions very exaggerated.

Both statements are wrong. There is no "G2". And since the fall of communism, Europe has been the most stable region in the world.

The European Union has a population of half a billion men and women whom are amongst the most educated and trained in the world. Even with only 7 percent of world population we still generate almost 22 percent of the world's wealth. (This is compared to about 21 percent for the US, 11.5 percent for China and 4.7 percent for India.) Together, we are the first commercial power in the world, bigger than the US, China or Japan. Our countries are envied for their political stability and security, for their social system and environmental standards, for the quality of European life.

http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ec/113067.pdf

The catholic explanation for a split personality?

Our knowledge has surpassed our wisdom. -Charu Saxena.