I Can Feel The Fear In The EU World
Earlier today, Smitty published a very interesting post, over at The Other McCain, on the decision of the Greek Government to hold a referendum on, as Smitty puts it, ‘the latest bailout farce’. He quotes from a piece British EU member Daniel Hannon on the horrified reaction of his fellow members and the EU Pooh-Bahs to the decision.
Please do take the time to click here and read it.
A friend of the Admiral, one Joakim Zander left a very interesting comment, which I quote in full, and that got me thinking:
Aah, finally a title that rouses my attention! Mainly because I am, well, a Eurocrat (although exiled to the outer borroughs of the empire). And also becaue I am, well, not in favour of referenda in general. Why not? Because I am a member of a well-fed and gravy-trained European Elite that firmly believes that I and my fellow Ivory tower dwellers are in a supreme position to take decisions on behalf of the people? Well, sometimes yes. And in this particular case? Certainly. As any student of direct democracy will corroborate, referenda are never about the issues that are on the ballot. Instead they are invariably about the people’s trust in the entity that is in favour of whatever is on the ballot. Thus, referenda are confidence votes concerning the governments that propose them. I cannot think of one single referendum in recent years in Europe where this was not the case. Since the current Greek government is about as popular as Louis XVI on 14 July 1789, the fears of Greece’s fellow Euro buddies are nothing if not well-founded. And this is not even touching upon the issue of how to formulate a question for the ballot… Thus, what I want to say is that there is nothing romantic or particularly democratic about a referendum. Especially not now. Hannon and his fellow populists are nothing but irresponsible for suggesting that there is any other potential outcome to this than Greece accepting the bail-out package as is.
I, too, am not in favor of referenda because the practice is Direct Democracy ― mob rule ― and the masses are too easily swayed by emotion and irrational self-interest.
Indirect methods of making certain decisions [such as ratifying The US Constitution] are the most effective. Of course, for Americans the best system of governance is the system put in place by The Founders ― indirect representation and divided government. Figuring out what is best for Europe [excluding Britain] is a lot tougher [although I tend to think constitutional monarchies under systems with non-proportional voting are most likely the best].
The whole idea of a European Union was a foolish one. It tried to pretend that the nation-state and the hold it has on people’s imaginations did not exist. It was born of a Soft Totalitarian mindset that thought the only thing wrong with National Socialism and Soviet Communism and Italian Fascism were that they went too far. So, the nations of Europe, taking a big cue from Bismark, created what they saw as a series of model socialist democracies and joined them under a federation of illuminated elites. To paraphrase Mencken: they wanted Democracy and they’re getting it good and hard. Referenda are one of the essential cogs in the Democratic wheel. If you want a Democracy, well then, the people en masse have a right to vote on things; they have the right to directly effect the running of the government.
To Europe I say: Deal with the consequences of your actions. You made your bed by deciding to go with the EU, which is a Soft Totalitarian organization, and by ignoring reality, and now you face a bleak future which will be much easier for the Mohammedins to overrun and gain control of.
Could This Be One Explanation?
It has been hard enough maintaining the federation I inhabit, where we share a common background, more or less. Western Australia came very close to seceding about 80 years ago – some old folks still talk about the vote as if it was held just last week. The idea gets a fresh airing every now and then.
The idea that nations as temperamentally far apart as Germany and Greece could rub along under a common currency is just plain nuts.
“The currency was a success but the economy died.” That will be funny for less time than I needed to type it.
The EU Doctors should be sued for malpractice.