Over the past decade I have, like many Americans, been aware of many of the changes that have been taking place in Europe, but unfortunately also like most Americans I have been completely unaware of the magnitude, extent and nature of the changes taken there. Reid's thesis is that the European Union, which could be the fulfillment of Winston Churchill's vision of a United States of Europe, could be poised to become a world superpower to equal or surpass the United States of America. Although Reid does not put it quite this way, if the 20th Century was the American Century, the 21st Century could well be the European Century.
Under any consideration, the situation that Reid describes in the European Union that is extremely impressive. In the decades following the destruction of the Second World War, the Europeans have crafted a loosely unified state that has created the world's largest trading bloc, the world's strongest currency, one of the world's largest populations, one of the world's greatest manufacturing bases, and a model network of social structures. As an American, I have long been used to the idea that the United States takes the lead on many of the world's advances, whether economic, political, or moral, but upon reading this book I wonder if we might be lagging rather far behind what is being done in Europe. But it is Europe and not the United States that is planning a trip to visit Mars. It is Europe that is setting the world's standards for safety. It is Europe that has taken the international lead on human rights issues, and has taken the United States to task for a variety of shortcomings in the area, in particular on capital punishment. Europe has far outstripped the United States in the way it has advanced and furthered the well being of its citizens, building a cradle to grave social network system. One wonders, in reading this book, if one is glimpsing the future and realizing that it lies on the other side of the ocean.
In reading the book, I kept thinking of Bush's remarks about Europe before the initiation of the invasion of Iraq, trying to strong arm them into joining the U.S. coalition by remarks about the old order of Europe, implying that the United States was on the cutting edge of things. The reverse seems to be the case, with the United States persisting in policies that are rapidly going out of date, with the United States pursuing a wide range of domestic policies that are running against the grain of what is happening in Europe. But with the magnificent health care system in Europe (universal, absolutely first rate, and extremely cheap, all while costing less than half of what the less-than-universal healthcare system of the United States costs), with the widespread protection for workers (e.g., it is illegal to downsize a company and layoffs are prohibited, and if unemployed one does not lose one's health benefits), with the vastly preferable work conditions (European workers have several weeks worth of days off compared to American workers, who tend to work exceedingly long hours for slightly better pay but vastly fewer benefits), it is not a question of whether Americans will want the kind of system put in place there but when. I was nearly incredulous when an online Swedish friend of mine explained that he gets eight weeks of vacation a year (he is in his mid-twenties). I asked how many sick days he got, and he said if you are sick you stay home; he didn't know what I meant by "sick days."
On top of all this, the European Union is growing rapidly as an economic superpower. Reid is not the first one to argue that it is a matter of time before the standard international currency is no longer the American dollar but the Euro. Again, this isn't a question of if, but when. On a host of issues, it is Europe that sets the rules for international trade. Reid illustrates the slowness with which the U.S. has awoken to this fact by the clumsy and thwarted attempt by Jack Welch and GE to merge with Honeywell.
All of this comes at a price, however. Reid details the rather gigantic amount in taxes all Europeans pay for the immense array of benefits they receive, for the extraordinary transportation system they enjoy, for the assurances that workers and the elderly receive, and for the vastly improved infrastructure that provides the foundations for contemporary Europe. They pay value added taxes on most goods at rates up to 17-25%, on top of regular taxes of all sorts. But they very much get in return what they pay for in taxes.
This is an eye-opening book, but one can in the end question whether the ascendance of Europe is quite as accomplished as Reid insists. After all, the United States is still the world's most powerful economy, and its massive military has provided the international security (to the West at least) that has made the European miracle possible. But I would respond to such a critic in this fashion: if the world Reid describes doesn't quite exist today, it easily could in the near future. Again, it is more of a "when" question, not an "if" question. Reid warns that there is a deep need for the United States to wake up to the changed landscape, to formulate methods of cooperation, to afford Europe the respect it demands, and to realize that they are not the only big boys on the block now. My own concern is that four more years of Bush, an individual who has done a great deal to solidify European self-identity (largely in unified opposition to him as a world leader the intensely loathe), will continue to left a great gap in world leadership, creating a void that Europeans will increasingly fill. In 2000, the United States was the world's leading nation, but in 2008 it is far more likely to be the European Union.
There are so many other fascinating things in this book, from the nature of Generation E to the vast mobility of residents (all in a collection of nations that are now passport free and have no checkpoints or guarded borders) to the role of English to the original conception of a united Europe. This truly is a book that all Americans need to read. To quote Jack Welch from the book, those in the U.S. might not like everything in this volume, but "This really is just the way the world works now."
