Philadelphia Reflections

The musings of a physician who has served the community for over six decades

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Creating the European Union: Forces and Factors
New topic 2013-11-19 20:53:10 description

Howard Calloway: On the European Union

{William Bingham class=}
Howard Callaway

Howard Calloway on the prospects for the EU:

1. The EU has no Army or Navy, and thus no military expenditures, but also no physical power. It remains to be seen whether this situation is an advantage or not. It's like leaving your six-gun on the table before you enter the boxing ring.

2. The unicameral parliament is no accident; there is a definite animosity to creating a Senate. To them, it signifies aristocracy, which many countries of the EU have not completely abandoned. To America, the creation of the Senate was a compromise (probably devised by Franklin, but perhaps by Dickinson) between big states and small ones; the American Union could never have been created without it, as a way for states of different sizes to share power.

3. Timing is everything. There are times which permit some concepts to move ahead when they would otherwise be unable to move. Some memories must be fresh; others must be half-forgotten.

Originally published: Tuesday, November 19, 2013; most-recently modified: Tuesday, May 21, 2019