Somalia

[aynfan]

26, at last count, warlords fighting for dominance; each controlling a portion of the real estate, and each with his own army, rules and means of enforcement. Is this anarchy in action?

Edited June 23, 2004 by GreedyCapitalist

[DavidOdden]

26, at last count, warlords fighting for dominance; each controlling a portion of the real estate, and each with his own army, rules and means of enforcement.  Is this anarchy in action?

No, it's the EU in a culture that doesn't have a firm grip on the concept "individual rights".

[Capitalism Forever]

No, it's the EU in a culture that doesn't have a firm grip on the concept "individual rights".

Naaaahh...I would say it's the EU without the pacifism.

As a person living in Europe, I can assure you that Euro-peons don't have any kind of grip on the concept of individual rights at all. Most people over here think that a "right" is whatever the government allows you to do.

The other day, I was wondering how long the EU would last. Will it tarry for seven decades, as the Soviet Union did, or will it have a quick and violent death, like the Third Reich had? As a tyranny ruled by strong hands, I reasoned, the Soviet Union could parasitize its victims to its heart's content as long as the victims allowed it. As soon as America began meaning business, it collapsed like a house of cards--but not sooner.

But the EU does not have a strong government; in fact, is tending towards anarchy. And an anarchy is not a stable arrangement. Europe is peaceful right now, as it is inhabited by cowardly flocks of pacifists--but as soon as the composition of the population changes (and changing it is!) the weak government institutions, unprepared for dealing with ruthless criminals and brutal terrorists, will quickly learn the consequences of bringing a knife to a gunfight.

[Spearmint]

The EU is hardly comparable to either Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia, and I would be interested as to why you feel it is moving towards 'anarchy' given that the problem many have with the EU is the increasing centralization of power.

[Capitalism Forever]

The EU is hardly comparable to either Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia

Comparable in what regard? The three share at least one attribute, namely that they are governments. And, IMO, they share an additional attribute: they are very bad examples of government. Bad governments are bound to fail sooner or later, so I think it is legitimate to wonder how soon the EU will fail relative to the other two.

I would be interested as to why you feel it is moving towards 'anarchy' given that the problem many have with the EU is the increasing centralization of power.

Yes, increasing centralization is one problem; but another one is the general weakening of the government as a result of Europe's pacifistic attitutes. The death penalty has been completely abolished; prison terms are ludicrously short and the prisons are more luxurious than the homes of some of the criminals; convinct sentenced to life imprisonment are routinely released due to "good behavior." The morale in the militaries is not much better than the morale in your average government-owned, over-unionized French company.

So what the EU is becoming is an amalgam of a bunch of nations with disparate cultures, with most of the official power concentrated in a central government organization that is far too weak to be up to the job, and a growing population of unassimilated immigrants from a hostile and militant culture. A perfect recipe for anarchy.