The End of Europe

While the rejection of the EU constitution has attracted attention to discontent in Europe, it has distracted the world from more serious European problems: low birthrates and a stagnant economy. In this article, Robert J. Samuelson labels Europe "history's has-been." Declining birthrates and an aging population are further straining an economy already beset with high unemployment and low growth. And, Samuelson says, instead of embracing the logical solutions – increased immigration and reduced social benefits – Europeans dig in their heels and insist on preserving early retirement and extended vacations. "Believing things should continue as before," he writes, "they see almost any change as menacing." Samuelson warns that Europeans are "quietly acquiescing in their own decline," and that their aversion to change will prove harmful to the US and to the world. – YaleGlobal