We've been following with great interest the clash between Mark Steyn and Austin Bay over the future of Europe. I first commented about it here. Rocket Man linked to the latest installments earlier today.

My general take is that Steyn has the better sense of how profound Europe's problems are and how little we now have in common with the Europeans. Indeed, my comment on MSNBC last week that the U.S. and Europe are former allies is not that different from Steyn's latest reference to "the death" of "a Euro-American alliance founded on common values."

However, in my view Bay is correct to reject Steyn's certainty that the rot is irreversible. In times of crisis, it's not difficult for minds as powerful as Steyn's to "prove" that a happy ending is impossible. Yet, hidden dynamics can produce endings that, if not happy, are at least acceptable. If one believes, as we do, that the Middle East cannot be written off with certainty, it would be odd for us to agree that Europe can be.

I hope to be able to comment more substantively on this matter before too long.

Posted by Paul at 09:36 PM  |    |  

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