It is time to point a finger at the guiltiest parties in this tragedy of Europe’s on-going decline: the “Big 3”. Indeed, Britain, France and Germany are foremost responsible for the triple disaster - economic, political and moral - that Europe is facing today.
Sadly, Europe’s Eclipse of Intelligence is expressing itself in the areas of economy, energy, taxation, immigration, and more. However, upon reflection there seems to be an underlying problem of values in Europe that is contributing to the general decline. Democracy, freedom, individual rights, and the very notion of rule of law, are all being undermined and even trampled upon today in Europe by the powers-that-be. A big reason for this is arguably a loss of political values in Europe.
A description of Europe’s woes during its current downward spiral, this Eclipse of Intelligence, must also address its immigration crises. These have existed for several decades in France and UK, as obvious consequences of past colonialism, but this is now a continent-wide problem, save for a few countries, since the disastrous European policies related to Libya and Syria.
It is impossible to discuss Europe’s Eclipse of Intelligence without mentioning the sorry state of freedom on the Old Continent. Europeans are being today subjected to attempts to restrict political freedom in ways not seen before in Western “democratic” systems, at least not so overtly. Of course, the heavily taxed and top-down regulated European societies are not economically “free” in any meaningful sense of the term. But politically, the situation has begun to degrade rapidly by the sheer brazenness of what is going on.
Next in Europe’s Eclipse of Intelligence, it is necessary to look at the relationship that is strongly influencing the strategic, political and economic direction of Europe today in a negative way; namely its subservience to the United States. Today, Europe’s relationship with the USA is one of submission – no other word is possible. As journalist Thomas Fazi wrote recently:
“Europe is today more politically, economically and militarily vassalised to Washington — and therefore weaker and less autonomous — than at any point since the Second World War.”
In this fifth article in the series on Europe’s Eclipse of Intelligence, we look at Europe’s woes on the international arena in the light of the shocking demise of diplomacy on the Old Continent today.
In this fourth article on Europe’s “Eclipse of Intelligence”, after a review of the main economic issues facing Europe and what so obviously should be done about it (but certainly won’t), it’s time to discuss democracy. It is a sensitive topic, because Europeans are so proud of their so-called “democratic” political systems, to the point that it has become almost like new secular religion for many who otherwise, as Solzhenitsyn’s said, suffer from the “illness of emptiness”.
After the overview intro to this series, it’s time to dig
deeper into Europe’s eclipse of intelligence. The notion of lack of intelligence
highlights that the decline of Europe is not inevitable or natural, but on the
contrary, could have been avoided - and can be remedied - through the
application of intelligence broadly defined.
Alexander Solzhenitsyn used the term “Eclipse of Intelligence” in order to describe Europe’s loss of values amidst what he saw as an ever-growing soulless materialism. Though in hindsight it seems like a somewhat exaggerated criticism of Europe of the time, the Russian author’s formula seems particularly apt today, considering the continent’s seeming death wish.
The recently FoIA released Bush-Putin verbatim transcripts provide interesting insights into US-Russia relations during the presidency of George W. Bush. Considering the on-going tragedy in Ukraine, the details of the meeting between Bush and Putin in Sochi, Russia on April 6, 2008 is of particular historical interest.
A critical review of the normative
arguments and the empirical evidence for natural rights seems relevant,
therefore, and could lead to a more nuanced and less principled approach. The
common modern definition of “natural rights” is used in this context, namely
the universal right to self-ownership, homesteading, and private property.
Indeed, let us expose again these monsters, one by one. First, it must be admitted that these monstrous entities are mostly Western, with an enormous propensity for lying.
