Europe - A Nation

[Johnson]

Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists was the first group to call for "European Union." The Social and Economic Committee of the EU is styled in Corporatism, that is, the fascist economics.

The European Union was founded almost word for word on a Fascist doctrine.

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EUROPE a Nation is an idea which anyone can understand. It is simple but should not on that account be rejected; most decisive, root ideas are simple. Ask any child what is a nation? He will probably reply, a nation has a government. And in fact this is the right answer, for the first thing to note about a nation is that it is a country consisting of a people with their own government. Many deeper reflections naturally follow; questions of geography, race, history, which contributed to the evolution of this fact, a people with a government which is a nation. But the simple, decisive point which defines a nation, is that it has a government. That is why the dividing question of modern Europe is whether or not we desire a European government. It is the purpose of this book to answer, yes. And in the end all will find it necessary to make up their minds on which side of this question they stand.

In the end the only way to get great things done is to do things in a great way. If we meet a vital necessity with a clear decisive idea which everyone can understand and which evokes a high ideal, the people will respond directly they see the necessity, understand the plan, and feel the appeal of a moving cause. That is why in life it is often easier to get great things done than to get small things managed. In a supreme moment, like the wars of the past, the peoples of Europe were capable of every exertion and of every sacrifice. There is now a real need to evoke the same fervent spirit for a decisive act, not of destruction but of construction, for a work not of division and death, but of union and life. This can only be done by an idea which is clear, and an idea which is great. Europe a Nation alone can awaken the vital response of the peoples.

If the countries of the West are certain to be confronted on world markets with a competition they cannot face, what is the remedy? The only possible answer is to withdraw from world markets into a viable economy, which is large enough to contain its own essential supplies and to provide its own markets. The only one available is Europe-Africa. South America is a conceivable economic alternative to Africa, but no one in the West can afford to leave a vacuum in Africa to be filled by communism, and a too close economic tie-up between Europe and South America can create political difficulties with North America which it is in the interests of the whole West to avoid. South America would appear to be rather a meeting ground for both the economics and the cultures of Europe and America. So the creation of a Europe-African economy with considerable speed is now vital to the life of Europe.

The civilisation we intend to create must be durable and humane. This means that the Blacks cannot be subjected to the Whites in Africa, and exploited as a pool of cheap, inferior labour. There is plenty of room for both White and Black in Africa, which is still relatively an empty continent. There is ample room for two nations, each with access to the necessary wealth for a full life and a high standard. But they must be separate nations if we are not to revert to the sweating and exploitation of the old colonialism. Whatever illusory guarantees of political liberty are given to backward peoples - even if the resistance of the White population to being in a numerical minority could be overcome, and it cannot be surmounted without the force which none are prepared to use - the less advanced peoples will in practical experience again become the bondsmen of the more advanced, if they live among them. An endless heritage of racial hatred will be the result, culminating in an explosion which will be repressed with bloodshed. So it is necessary to create two nations in Africa, and no one can claim that the necessary space or wealth of potential foodstuffs and raw material are not there. Again, this is a task which is out of the question for the weak individual nations of Europe, but by no means beyond the strength and power of a united Europe.

From every sphere of enquiry we return to our original questions: how can something so big as Europe-Africa be made at all without European Government; how can it be done without European Government in the short time available which is certainly much less than the fifteen years now believed to be necessary to make even the common European market; and what hope is there of anything short of a united Europe with a Europe-African economy providing a solution for the economic problems now facing the nations of Western Europe? Something so big cannot be done with such speed without real unity. And real unity now means the European Government of Europe a Nation. We must now think, feel, act as Europeans.

Oswald Mosley - 'Europe a Nation', in Europe: Faith and Plan

[G. Adams]

The European Union is not 'fascist' because:

A) There is no movement to re-invigorate Europe back to traditional values. Fascism is ultraconservative, while the European Union is generally progressive.

B) There is no nationalistic tendencies in the European Union.

C) There is no subservience to a single, all powerful body. The commisioners do have far too much power for their unnacountable hands, but they are not all powerful.

D) The EU has not taken away or impinged upon individuals rights within the Union. Quite the opposite, the European Convention on human rights brought rights to many who had not had them before.

E) The European Union does not have a military, or an aggressive foreign policy. A core belief of fascism is that the strong should rule and the weak ruled. This does not reflect the European Unions actions or principles.


I do feel that the EU is a monstrous bureaucracy that needs reforming. It needs elections that matter, with power being in the hands of the MEP's, rather than appointed commisioners. Sadly, any attempt to reform the EU is opposed by conservatives who claim that it is trying to replace national governments. They of course at the same time whinge that it is undemocratic.

[einned]

I can't see it happening in the near or distant future that Europe will become ONE nation. The thing is that most of the europeans don't even agree with the way the european commision is trying to get a grip on things.

[Johnson]

Originally posted by G. Adams@Sep 2 2003, 07:11 PM A) There is no movement to re-invigorate Europe back to traditional values. Fascism is ultraconservative, while the European Union is generally progressive. B) There is no nationalistic tendencies in the European Union. C) There is no subservience to a single, all powerful body. The commisioners do have far too much power for their unnacountable hands, but they are not all powerful. D) The EU has not taken away or impinged upon individuals rights within the Union. Quite the opposite, the European Convention on human rights brought rights to many who had not had them before. E) The European Union does not have a military, or an aggressive foreign policy. A core belief of fascism is that the strong should rule and the weak ruled. This does not reflect the European Unions actions or principles.

A) Fascism seeks to preserve and advance the culture of one's nation, not to roll it back to archaic times. The Fascist movements were reactionary to a great level of cultural decay, and thus sought to stop this decay, rather than ignore it and go with the flow. (progressive liberalism.)

"Fascism, which was not afraid to call itself reactionary… does not hesitate to call tself lliberal and anti-liberal."

"Fascism, in short, is not only the giver of laws and the founder of institutions,
but the educator and promoter of spiritual life. It wants to remake, not the
forms of life, but its content, man, character, faith. And to this end it requires
discipline and authority that can enter into the spirits of men and there govern
unopposed."

B) The idea of "Europe a nation" is indeed a nationalistic one. Besides, the EU countries still have individual governments, nationalism is not ruled out, and internationalism doesn't play a part outside of Europe.

"We deny your internationalism, because it is a luxury which only the upper lasses can afford; the working people are hopelessly bound to their native shores."

C) Fascism has a checks and balances system.

D) Fascism does not seek to, nor did the previous Fascist governments, take away or infringe upon individual rights. Italy only brought about gun control when there was domestic dissent (which came about twelve years later, when Mussolini started dabbling in foreign wars.) which is also something the USA will do.
Homosexuals and other cultural deviants were of course persecuted, as they were in the USA in that era.

"Fascism recognizes the right of the individual, it recognizes religion and family."

E) Fascism has an isolationist foreign policy. It advocates a strong home army to protect the borders but not an imperialist army to command and conquer.

[G. Adams]

A) seeks to preserve AND advance culture? Fascism, as any right wing ideology, seeks to maintain, or return to a more, class structured society. If it were to advance, it would be to level the playing field for all, as communism does (should).

B) Europe as a nation is not a nationalistic idea, it is (in its ideal form) a humanistic one. It is not about creating a strong Europe, it is about helping each other and preventing wars in our battered continent. There may well be fascist elements who wish to create the new reich, but that is not the majority view. The actual state of the EU is simply a rich mans playground, not compatible with either humanism or fascism.

C) In what way does fascism have a checks and balances system? The only check on an overly powerful government is an armed populace, but as you stated, when people dissent from what the leader wants that check is taken away.

D) See above

E) Ah, so I assume the building of the third reich from the baltic to the atlantic was simply protecting their borders? Or Mussolini's movements into Ethiopia? I state again, fascism believes in the rule of the strong and supression of the weak.

[rmnunez]

Interesting note on the ancient roots of the notion of a European Union, but I'd have to agree with Adams, the EU certainly isn't heading towards fascism (remember how they reacted to Haider in Austria, their recent anticipatory repudiation of conservative sweeps in both Holland and Belgium, their unease over the Swiss elections).

I do think the EU is headed towards a more consolidated 'national' unity. It is an innovative process that has been progressing for a long time. The EU we have now was the EEC not so long ago and that entity did emerge from a purely economic IGO and had exclusive market-related aims (hence the name "Common Market"). But the EU is much more than a customs union or free-trade area.

Many find just 3 fundamental sovereign atributes; autonomy in foreign policy, military affairs and the economy. The first to succumb has been the economy with a Central European bank, common currency and subordination of fiscal authority. Advancing in the area of military affairs is complicated by the American prevalence in the most analogous NATO and they've made tentative progress towards a unified foreign policy until the French came a long and stuck their oar in.

If the EU develops a common defense force and a collective foreign policy, I do think either France or Birtain would be redundant in the SC.

[G. Adams]

Which is why Britain should be throwing itself into these projects to retain some influence. On top of that, Britains experience militarily would be of great benefit to any developments in a unified military.

The only thing we really need is better communications between the peoples of Europe. There should be a directive from the EU to its member nations to teach children another European language (i'd say french, english or spanish simply because they have the greatest number of speakers worldwide) right from the start.