RePosted: Has Germany Lost its Mojo?

As the European debt crisis intensifies, Uncommon Knowledge’s Peter Robinson interviewed British columnist James Delingpole who said in the interview that: “I think it is inevitable the Euro will collapse. It’s a question of whether it’s going to be ugly or really, really, really disastrous.” Europe’s choice is between two bad options: let the Euro collapse or agree to Germany’s demand for a new European fiscal union in which Germany would fund a massive economic bailout while having the ability to pull the national purse strings of European debtor nations.

Or put another way: European nations can give up sovereignty for a bailout or take responsibility for their choices and suffer economically.

David Cameron, Britain’s prime minister, rejected the German option in what Pat Buchanan calls “David Cameron’s Finest Hour.” Buchanan insists, however, that Germany is “exploiting the crisis to impose [its] model on the eurozone today and all of Europe tomorrow.” But is this really the case? The irony is the appearance of a new German hegemonic power over Europe the likes of which have not been seen since 1941. The reality, however, is not that Germany is trying to impose itself on the nations of Europe but rather that Germany is running away from a German national identity of which it is ashamed.

In other words, while the nations of Europe are reawakened to their own national spirit, the Germans are eager to lead the way into a new “European spirit” because doing so will finally dilute Germany of its national guilt by diluting Germany of its own national identity. The answer to Germany’s problem, however, is not in a kind of national suicide but rather in a rediscovery of a German identity to be proud of. This means looking back to Germany’s Catholic roots and recognizing that the high days of the Medieval world were the result of a union of Greek philosophy, Roman law, the Christian faith, and the German warrior.

The Christian knight is certainly nothing to be ashamed of – and if the Germans can return to their roots, they’ll regain their confidence and be a leader among the nations once more.


[Has Germany Lost its Mojo was originally posted on December 15, 2011]