Daniel Stolle
IF proof were needed of the maxim that the road to hell is paved with
good intentions, the economic crisis in Europe provides it. The worthy
but narrow intentions of the European Union’s
policy makers have been inadequate for a sound European economy and
have produced instead a world of misery, chaos and confusion.
There are two reasons for this.
First, intentions can be respectable without being clearheaded, and the
foundations of the current austerity policy, combined with the
rigidities of Europe’s monetary union (in the absence of fiscal union),
have hardly been a model of cogency and sagacity. Second, an intention
that is fine on its own can conflict with a more urgent priority — in
this case, the preservation of a democratic Europe that is concerned
about societal well-being. These are values for which Europe has fought,
over many decades.
