1 Balloga, Abram Balloga Lowell Turner Govt 330 6/13/2007 This Social Europe The concept of social Europe arose as a rebuilding and "never again" measure after World War II. The European Union was created with the purpose of uniting European countries into a single cohesive unit collectively striving for economic growth, equality, fundamental rights, and more recently, environmental protection. This coalition of nations, who join of their own accord, become part of this creature referred to as "social Europe". Members of the European Union generally share interests and moral codes, which is necessary to minimize conflict. Fundamental human rights in member nations are protected, and policies to foster wealth redistribution are employed. Coordinated Market Economies with codetermination policies are typical in social Europe. Here workers are internationally unionized and labor representatives work together with top management to benefit the firm from both ends. Labor laws are standardized to protect children, women, and other groups from exploitation and discrimination. Countries such as Turkey, who are very different culturally and socially from the EU states, are considered incompatible membership. Until Turkey can demonstrate that its admission will not cause friction and conflict within the EU, it
Balloga, 2 will not gain entrance. This model of globalization is much different from the American liberal market economy model. In my opinion social Europe has made impressive strides. It seems possible that an entire continent could achieve social and economic cohesion even one as economically, politically and culturally diverse as Europe. However I believe that social Europe is doomed to failure. As the European Union progresses, the very mechanisms by which it gains success will lead to its implosion. The EU, in order to effectively carry out its mission, must be allowed certain amounts of sovereignty by its members. As it gains power and influence over European nations, it will also be more successful in shaping the continent into a single and growing economic and social machine. However, eventually EU the will cross too many boundaries with its policies. Individual nations will become increasingly dissatisfied as they're culture assimilates into a pan-European melting pot. This mechanism can already be seen Muslim immigration and Americanization issues in France. At some point, a nation will be forced to refuse the EU. What happens next will be determined by the amount of power the EU has gained by that point. The situation could end in peace and a loss of legitimacy by the EU, or in worst case scenerio, WWIII. It is the difference between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution in the US. I believe that for the EU to succeed in created a united social Europe, it must eventually have constitutional power and military assets. As of now the EU is even less capable of influencing its members than the Articles of Confederation were of controlling the States. Though I admire and hope for the
Balloga, 3 success of social Europe, I believe that either its success will reach a ceiling along with the EU's power or it will self destruct. Even so, there are lessons that liberal America can learn from social Europe's successes. Here in the United States we seem to enjoy relatively free capitalism with fewer regulations. It is a dog eat dog world, where a family can achieve obscene wealth from poverty in one generation, the American dream. However we are finally beginning to realize that there such occurrences are increasingly rare. The wealth gap is spreading as the rich become richer while middle and lower class incomes are stagnant. There is a great need for wealth redistribution in this country. We need stronger unions and a shift towards a coordinated market economy. I would like to see increased co-determination between management and labor. I want firms in this country to be able to increase profits, employment, and wages without increasing production or prices. It comes down to the philosophy of our government. We are so used to looking out for the individual, that we have difficulty improving our overall social and economic situation in the US. We have been wrong before, alas we are a stubborn people.