Observing the EU’s travails from a comfortable distance I’ve started to think about the pointlessness of regional blocs in the contemporary world. Naturally there are some things which could be done on a regional basis that might be in the general interest of everyone. Easing international trade and standardising documentation in a continent with a number of small countries such as Europe is helpful. Trying to force them all to conform to common policies will not work, however. We’ve already had this proven several times over the past two centuries.
The reality is that technology has moved us beyond contiguous borders. It’s no more difficult for me to order a CD from London, a book from Melbourne, and a few pounds of coffee from Sao Paulo than it is for me to order the same from a neighbouring county. In some instances it is easier as I am able to communicate with them in the same language, something which doesn’t seem to be possible in the Bay Area where one must be conversant in Cantonese, Tagalog, Castilian, and PC Newspeak to simply function.
Perhaps some, especially on the European Continent ( I do not consider the UK to be part of Europe), are so married to the post-Second World War order of continental blocs that they simply cannot recognised just how much the world has changed. It’s not uncommon for people to have family on three continents, it’s not uncommon for people to form enduring personal and business ties with people on the other side of the world. This seems to be especially common for people blessed with the ability to speak English.
I, for one, have an easier time getting on with people in Taiwan, Australia, or Brazil than dealing with people from Germany, much less France.
Boadicea's Chariot 
I couldn’t agree more Christopher.
Well, you just know I’m going to agree, doncher? 😀
Me, too.
OZ
Ja well.
What about the U.S.A.?
Or is that a different bloc?
Can you imagine 230 years ago the separate States all wanting autonomy?
I’m afraid that the Yanks have proved that it works, can you just imagine 52 separate countries, 4 or 5 different languages, each with their own currency, ongoing rivalries between all 52 of them?
Blocs work, (the Yanks have proved that) it’s the self serving politicians at the top who continue to mess up, a United Europe or would you believe an African Union,( ‘our’ mate Ghadiffi was going to head that one up???) should indeed be viable.
Not in my lifetime.
Soutie: the USA , much like Canada and Australia, is just different. It cannot be compared with Europe since it’s a different sort of bloc. The USA is a former series of settler colonies. The indigenous people, never united, were crushed early on. Thus, the population living in the USA forged a new nation and a new identity, much as was the case in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada. In Europe we have countries with thousands of years of history and often equally long memories of animosity. The nation-state as it currently exists in Africa may not be really comparable with that in Europe, but the histories and animosities are there. One cannot compare the old worlds with the new.
The USA actually did have different currencies circulating for much of its history, it was only in the 20th century that a unified paper currency was finally issued.
States are far more autonomous than realised in Europe. State law takes precedence in most day to day situations.
As far as I can see it is only Europe that tries so hard to hold its bloc together, I have always darkly suspected so that transference of power is easier! Interesting that from the Holy Roman Empire, the Hapsburgs, Kaiser Willhelm I. Hitler and now the EU bunch try to integrate and keep the reins on the whole place again and again in history.
Other locations have a far more haphazard history.
CO: don’t forget Louis XIV and Napoleon. The Froggies tried a couple times.
Germany is really a strange country. Despite being one of the world’s most respect
and influential countries, it’s a land that didn’t really want to be united. Germany history
is more marked by responding to outside pressures and being pushed down paths
than by taking the lead. If anyone is interested I could write a blog entry on this matter.
Regional blocs may have been sensible when communications and transport were slower, but those days are long past.
As you rightly say, it is almost as easy to order from long-distant countries as from suppliers close by.
One cannot possibly compare the unification of a number of states, such as the US, with virtually no previous independent history with the unification of countries with millennia of separate existence and, often, antagonism towards their neighbours.
As Christina points out, the States in the US have quite a lot of autonomy, and even here there are some issues which are purely ‘State’ matters.
Go for it Christopher – I always find your posts interesting 🙂
There are lots of things here which are State matters – and there would be more if the Federal government hadn’t grabbed them.
Yes, Christopher, I would be interested in such a blog.
Ditto 11
Simple answer, yes! As others have stated, the USA has far less baggage then Europe.
Some had a go 150 years ago!
I would say that this bloc is beginning to go pear-shaped. As for speaking different languages, how many can only speak Spanish? The American politicians are just as disgusting as the European ones.
Sorry, but I think the idea of blocs is past its sell-by date.
FEEG: if the US fragments it will not be so much on racial/linguistic lines as it will on idealogical.
The exception might be Hawai’i, but that is so far away that it hardly even counts.
There are some states such as Texas, Virginia, and Nebraska that are pulling their weight and doing well all things considered. They are financially healthy and economically sound, despite the current downturn. Then there are other states such as California, New York, and Illinois that are not. Their economic growth is sclerotic and they are deeply indebted with no positive news on the horizon. Those that can and are are getting a bit miffed with those that could but won’t. Much like the Italians or Poles before them, the children of the Spanish-speaking immigrants do learn English and by and large become part of society. Even the immigrants themselves, while often not fluent, are generally at least able to communicate with others.