Tuesday 26 October 2010

The Death of the "European Model"

Peter Schweizer Proclaims a Death

France is ablaze with violent protests, Greece is broke, and the British government is going to lay off half a million workers. Missed from the headlines is the biggest casualty in all of this: the death of the “European model.” For at least two generations now, ”progressives” and liberals in the U.S. have looked at Europe with fluttering hearts and envy, convinced that if we could only see things clearly we would abandon the American model and become MORE LIKE THEM. The German social safety net, the Scandinavian sense of tolerance, and the French commitment to long paid holidays. How great our lives would be if we just did it their way.

Fortunately the common sense of the American people led them to resist most of these socialistic overtures. The pure and clean American idea “you can’t get somethin’ for nothin’” saved the day. And now we see the results. Europe is in chaos, struggling to step back from the abyss. In Germany, the Chancellor has rightfully declared that multiculturalism has failed. The government is rightfully moving away from big government and toward austerity. (How far the unions will let them go is another story.) In Great Britain, there are massive layoffs which will probably be a down payment on further reform.

France is burning. America is not. The European model is officially dead. (Breitbart: Pig Peace)

We believe these rumours of the demise of the "European model" are greatly exaggerated. We see in Europe no changing of deities, no repentance of the current regnant humanist and Enlightenment idolatries. Rather, we see a slight rebalancing to right the ship for a brief time, before it is full-steam-ahead into the maelstrom once again. The same indictment stands against the US and the West in general. We are all sailing "right behind".

2 comments:

webulite.com said...

I think what you find is that some calvinists and "reformed" groups are simply hoping. They are angry that Europe long ago discounted the calvinistic models, so they look to express their hate any time Europe goes through hard time.

Cheers webulite.com

John Tertullian said...

Gidday, mate. Not sure exactly what you mean. Europe long ago discounted Christianity to be sure. Do we Christians therefore "hate" Europe. Not at all. One can hate a concentration camp, without despising and rejecting those suffering inside it, non? And Christians also strive to be fair handed when it comes to their own respective country's rejection of the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. Infidelity to the Christ is not a problem isolated to Europe, after all.
JT