The EU’s success story is closely related to the post war emergence of a strong and wealthy middle class. The situation started to deteriorate as the consequences of globalization started to manifest themselves in Europe. The rich have become richer and the middle class started to become thinner, while lower end salaries stagnated. Businesses relocating in search of cheaper labour have put a cap on the increasing prosperity of Europeans. The crisis did nothing but to worsen the discrepancies.
Given the above, all the so called “solutions” such as cancelling the Brexit referendum, a new referendum, more integration or less EU integration, reforming Bruxelles etc. etc. are utterly useless as long as the core cause will not be tackled: how to restore and preserve the prosperity of Europeans. That’s it!
As long as politicians will continue to go along the same line, serving with a priority the business elites and not the ordinary citizens, coming with “solutions” in the strait jacket of the current economic development model, the final dissolution of the EU will be inevitable. There is a stringent need for a total reset of the way in which the EU’s political-economic system works.
Yes, it is profound, it is unprecedented, it is dramatic, but it is as dramatic as the situation faced by the EU these days. The stakes are high and Europe has to give up to the traditional way of thinking, pioneering a new development model. It should be a model in which labour costs should be minimized by relying less and less on humans.
The standard message sent to Europeans by politicians and business people is: ”Europe is ageing fast, therefore the workforce is shrinking and has to be compensated by immigrants or by business relocation”. So are we being told that in the 21 st century, living the digital revolution, the only way in which we can develop economically is by multiplying more and more in an already over populated world? Really?
But what about the experts warning us that the increased robots revolution is likely to put at danger the jobs of people as less skilled activities will be given to robots. Moreover it is anticipated that such developments might even lead to business relocation back in the countries of origin.
Something doesn’t add up don’t you think? Apparently, despite having technological solutions ahead, companies prefer to go after or bring in a cheap labour force, ignoring the damage they produce culturally and socially in the EU. They seem to be myopic and greedy not to realize that, by doing so, they are destroying the fabric of their own success, the existence of the EU with all its business friendly features: common market, single currency and free borders.
This has to come up to an end. This is the very moment when European politicians have to step in and stop this suicidal behavior of the business elites. What if Germany, one of the technological frontrunners of Europe, a country with a deep need to restore the Europeans confidence in it would take the initiative of starting a pan-European project involving political and business elites aimed to find a model by which less and less working people could support more and more older people. Technological progress is and will be more and more able to provide this.
It will not be easy it will not be cheap. Businesses will have to invest serious money in such a solution. Much more than in a Middle East immigrant… But the next challenge would be even more important and sensitive.
How to avoid seeing the wealth to be created ending again in the hands of only a few and spread it instead across the whole society? This would require wages and profits to be taxed more in order to create the budget resources for the social assistance for the elders. A difficult decision, isn’t it? But, if achieved in Europe, would resolve the most important problem of the human race in the centuries to come: an ageing and declining population.
Therefore we are condemned to find a solution. Europe has a tradition of being a frontrunner in different areas. To the extent to which Europe has dared to be a successful leader in carbon emission control and in green energy, finding innovative solutions to push for pollution control development, I have no reasons to believe that Europe would not be able to reach a consensus among its political and business elites aimed to build a brand new development model.
Businesses need it before they see the ecosystem which brought them to success vanishing, politicians need it in order gain back their credibility they have lost in the past decades in front of the voters, Europeans need it in order to see their prosperity rising and, finally, Germany needs it order to show that it is capable of providing genuine high quality leadership in the 21 century. Finally, Europe needs it in order to survive.
