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June 03, 2010

EUnuchs

Victor Davis Hanson offers a succinct take on the prospects for democratic socialism in Europe.

An entire generation nursed on socialism as a birthright — with no direct memory of the hardship of the Depression, World War II, the postwar rebuilding, or the fault lines from left-right violence in Spain, Italy, and Greece — will very soon be “asked” to give much of it up. As the statist economy goes, so too will go much of the European posturing about state-subsidized radical environmentalism, pooh-poohing of Islamic radicalism, and holding up of the bogeyman of American imperialism. Those were always pipe-dream ideologies of an affluent and subsidized populace. They are certainly luxuries beyond the means of a far poorer, far angrier citizenry that now must live in the unkind world.

Agreed, though despite the cogency of his argument, VDH does not take the next step and provide us with the likely alternatives to an unsustainable democratic socialism. Between a resurgent Renaissance-style entrepreneurialism and European exceptionalism and a resurrected post-industrial Bosniac-style Caliphate featuring armed colonial beacheads in urban centres across the continent, which seems the more likely?

But I would not take the over/under on either of those and what is to my mind the yet more likely result: Europe hitting the reset button on fascism and national socialism. One warning for the Islamists lest they get part of what they wish for. If France or Spain or Greece takes the first step, Europe's "tiny minority" can expect to enjoy participating in the continuing demonization of Israel and the Jews. But the industrial-scale horror of social-engineering which follows will be directed at Europe's Muslims. We need not evoke Godwin for historical precedent but Srebrenica all of fifteen years ago.

The advantages to civilization of a European Renaissance are obvious but, pace VDH, as the statist economy goes it will be much simpler for Europeans to just die off and be replaced by a vigorous, fecund Islamism than for Europeans to get out of bed and go to work (or get back into bed and get to work, as the case may be).

Easier still to double-down on everything: socialism, corporatism, managerialism, environmentalism, anti-capitalism, anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism. People advancing this combination of perspectives used to (proudly) call themselves "fascists", these days they (proudly) call themselves "progressives".

Posted by Ghost of a flea at June 3, 2010 01:15 PM

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