German Philosophy for Immigrants
The line to speak with a consular official is never so long as when you’re studying 19th-century philosophy and everything you desire exists on the other side of an ocean.
Eurozonia
A collection of 13 issues
Bunga Bunga Boing
Having followed the Eurozone crisis from up close for so many months, I long ago gave up seeking day-to-day gains. That made the news of Berlusconi’s plans to resign—or at least not contest the next election—a nice surprise, but little more than that. After all,
Postcards From Europe, Hastily Scrawled
Michael Lewis’s new book Boomerang is a short collection of Vanity Fair essays in which the author tours Europe to see how Iceland, Greece, Ireland, and Germany got into such a financial mess. His central thesis is that cheap credit offered “entire societies the chance to reveal aspects of
As Arizona, So the Continent
Amid an attention-seeking quasi-trader telling the BBC how he falls asleep dreaming of another recession and the decade of gloom forecast for Europe, there are few bright spots. One was the recent success of a left-wing coalition in Denmark’s general election. That election saw the defeat
Needs Must
Using “must” does not help you express yourself. In this Eurozone crisis, simply expressing strong opinions is the rhetoric device of choice for presidents, economists, and inane commenters alike. “Must” disguises arguments that provoke fear; it zig-zags around complexity and the idea that alternative solutions are valid and viable.
Crisis Is Just a Detour in the Decline of the West
If there’s a single country that deserves some slack for making a meaningful contribution to civilization, it’s the Greeks, but most everyone in Europe remains mad at them.
Ghostride the Wake
For the Eurozone, a good week is when it isn’t afflicted by breaking news. We just had one of those weeks. It’s important to note the good ones with as much vehemence as when we discuss the bad ones, and Nobel economists are so optimistic right now. First
No Choice for Politics
The options for Europe’s leaders are running out as the markets continue to lack faith in Eurozone stability and growth. Now, both the breakup of the Eurozone and the creation of a United States of Europe that share debt through Eurobonds seem equally likely propositions. The more I read
Talk Less Shit, Be More Anal
The economic crisis in Europe is already hard enough to understand. Journalists should inform us if we’re screwed, and how screwed we are. Thing unravels when they start substituting literary fiction and an extended scatological metaphor for fact.
No Vacation From Volatility
Silvio Berlusconi watched the recent economic volatility from his Sardinian villa. He is taking a seaside view of the crisis, says the Financial Times, noting that Italian economic policy is “in effect being dictated from outside as Italy becomes the latest front line in the battle to save the euro