The case for the EU

Mat comes back to my argument against the EU

It's not opposition to China specifically, nor Russia, India or the US. It's the recognition that over the next 50 years, these will be the dominant power blocks.

No I completely understand the rise of China and others. The unipolar hegemony of the US is not going to last. Quite frankly EU growth is so tiny that even if it did whole heartedly support the USA (rather than reflexively opposing it) it could not prolong US hegemony long and stop the creation of a multipolar world.

So a world is coming with multiple power blocks. Each power block will have a different culture, and represent a slightly different set of ideas. The question then becomes which ideas are best? Which will lead to the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people?

The EU has clearly set marked it's ground. It is protectionist, King Canute trying to order back the waves of globalisation. It is wedded to the failed European Social Model, so much so it is written into the constitution, that cripples the economies of its members. As I showed in my argument the EU is reflexively anti-american, and to that end has chosen to side with the emerging authoritarian powers. There is no evidence that this is going to change.

The EU is therefore not a power block aiding freedom, economic or social. If increasing happiness is our goal, then we should seek to help the power blocks that that help freedom since being free at least gives the chance of happiness and suppressing freedom is a sure path to unhappiness. Play the blocks off against each other sure (which we cannot do subsumed into the EU), but keep the ultimate goal in mind.

Which means that we should not seek to help the EU, or it's favorites such as China. But lend our weight to the more freedom loving powers for as long as they are freedom loving e.g. the USA, Australia and India. What is collectively known as the Anglosphere. We cannot do any of this while inside the EU and should therefore leave.