The EU’s Nobel Peace Prize: Not Just a Laughing Matter
- Post 13 October 2012
- By Ted R. Bromund, Ph.D. | The Foundry
The news that the European Union—which is in the midst of the most sustained crisis of its history—has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize is worthy of a laugh—or three.
European defense spending is at post-1945 lows and falling further still; it is not the EU that is keeping the peace in Europe but the lack of a desire to fight anyone.
In a particularly wonderful piece of irony, Norway—home of the Nobel Committee and universally acknowledged as one of the most peaceful places in the world—is itself not even in the EU. And at least in theory, the prize is for activities in the past year; it is not a lifetime achievement award.
Far from encouraging peace over the past year, the EU has done its best—through its mania for defending the euro—to cause deeper recessions across Europe and thereby encourage the rise of radical political parties in nations like Greece.
The idea that the EU is a force for peace is deeply entrenched in the conventional mind of Europe. It is also wrong. The reason Europe is at peace today is because the Second World War ended the old clashes between the great powers of Europe and replaced them with two superpowers: the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. From then on, there would be a major war in Europe only if the superpowers wanted one. ... continues...
"Question all which is 'taught,' dig deeper, think clearly, respond profusely. Conformity is the antithesis of free thought and self-determination." -- Standard Pearls