[p2p-research] Fwd: nice article on european desintegration

[Michel Bauwens]

here is a piece of that text,

reading recommended, and my conclusion is, this is why the p2p alternative
is so needed:


We are witnessing a transition from one form of international competition to
another: no longer (mainly) a competition among productive capitals, but a
competition among national territories, which use tax exemptions and
pressure on the wages of labour to attract more floating capital than their
neighbours.

Now, clearly, whether Europe works as an effective system of solidarity
among its members to protect them from "systemic risks", or simply sets a
juridical framework to promote a greater degree of competition among them,
will determine the future of Europe politically, socially, and culturally.

But there is a second tendency: a transformation of the international
division of labour, which radically destabilises the distribution of
employment in the world. This is a new global structure where north and
south, east and west are now exchanging their places. Europe, or most of it,
will experience a brutal increase of inequalities: a collapsing of the
middle classes, a shrinking of skilled jobs, a displacement of "volatile"
productive industries, a regression of welfare and social rights, and a
destruction of cultural industries and general public services. This will
precipitate a return to the ethnic conflicts which the European construction
wanted to overcome forever.

We cannot, accordingly, but ask the question: is this the beginning of the
end for the EU, a construction that started 50 years ago on the basis of an
age-old utopia, but now proves unable to fulfil its promises? The answer,
unfortunately, is yes: sooner or later, this will be inevitable, and
possibly not without some violent turmoil. Unless it finds the capacity to
start again on radically new bases, Europe is a dead political project.

But the breaking of the EU would inevitably abandon its peoples to the
hazards of globalisation to an even greater degree. Conversely, a new
foundation of Europe does not guarantee any success, but at least it gives
her a chance of gaining some geopolitical leverage. With one condition,
however: that all the challenges involved in the idea of an original form of
post-national federation are seriously and courageously met. These involve
setting up a common public authority, which is neither a state nor a simple
"governance" of politicians and experts; securing genuine equality among the
nations, thus fighting against reactionary nationalisms; and above all
reviving democracy in the European space, thus resisting the current
processes of "de-democratisation" or "statism without a State", produced by
neoliberalism.

Something obvious should have been long acknowledged: there will be no
progress towards federalism in Europe (the one that is now advocated by
some, and rightly so) if democracy itself does not progress beyond the
existing forms, allowing an increased influence for the people(s) in the
supranational institutions. Does this mean that, in order to reverse the
course of recent history, to shake the lethargy of a decaying political
construction, we need something like a European populism, a simultaneous
movement or a peaceful insurrection of popular masses who will be voicing
their anger as victims of the crisis against its authors and beneficiaries,
and calling for a control "from below" over the secret bargainings and deals
made by markets, banks, and states? Yes indeed. I agree that it can lead to
other catastrophes. But the risk is greater if nationalism prevails in
whichever form.

In this part of the world, such forces were traditionally called "the left".
But the European left is also now bankrupt. In the broader political space,
stretching across borders, that is now relevant, it has lost every capacity
to express social struggles or launch emancipatory movements. It has
surrendered to the dogmas and rationales of neoliberalism. Consequently it
has been ideologically disintegrated. Deprived of any strong popular
support, those parties which represent it nominally are now powerless
spectators of the crisis, for which they offer no specific or collective
response.

We may well wonder, in these conditions, what is going to happen when the
crisis enters its next phases? There will be protest movements, almost
certainly, but they will find themselves isolated, and possibly they will
become deviated towards violence, or recuperated by racism and xenophobia
(which are already surging all around us). But the question also concerns
intellectuals: what should and could be a democratically elaborated
political action against the crisis at the European level? It is the task of
progressive intellectuals, whether they see themselves as reformists or
revolutionaries, to discuss this subject and take risks. If they fail to do
it, they will have no excuse.


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Michel Bauwens <michelsub2004 at gmail.com>
Date: Thu, May 27, 2010 at 4:50 AM
Subject: Re: nice article
To: George Papanikolaou <georgepapani at gmail.com>
Cc: Peer-To-Peer Research List <p2presearch at listcultures.org>


thanks George!

2010/5/26 George Papanikolaou <georgepapani at gmail.com>

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/may/25/eu-crisis-catastrophic-consequences
>



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