Economics

Evropská politika antiutopie

Oct 29, 2015 Nouriel Roubini

TOKIO – Nedávné vítězství konzervativní strany Právo a spravedlnost (PiS) v Polsku potvrzuje nejnovější trend v Evropě: vzestup neliberálního státního kapitalismu pod vedením populistických pravicových autoritářů. V Rusku to můžeme nazývat putinomikou, v Maďarsku orbánomikou, v Turecku erdoğanomikou a v Itálii třeba dekádou berlusconomiky, ze které se země dodnes vzpamatovává. Také v Polsku se nepochybně brzy dočkáme kaczyńskonomiky.

Všechno jsou to variace na stejné nelibozvučné téma: nacionalistický vůdce se dostane k moci, když hospodářské těžkosti ustoupí chronické a sekulární stagnaci. Tento zvolený autoritář pak začne omezovat politické svobody prostřednictvím pevné kontroly nad sdělovacími prostředky, zejména nad televizí. Poté tento muž (prozatím to vždy byli muži, ačkoliv Francouzka Marine Le Penová by do této škatulky rovněž zapadla, kdyby se někdy dostala k moci) prosazuje agendu zaměřenou proti Evropské unii (pokud je jeho země členem) nebo jiným institucím nadnárodního řízení.

Staví se proti volnému obchodu, globalizaci, přistěhovalectví a přímým zahraničním investicím a upřednostňuje domácí zaměstnance a firmy, zejména státní podniky a soukromé společnosti i finanční skupiny s vazbami na mocné. V některých případech takovou vládu podporují otevřeně národovecké, rasistické strany, případně jí dodávají ještě výraznější autoritářský a antidemokratický ráz.

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Nouriel Roubini

Writing for PS since 2007
183 Commentaries

Nouriel Roubini, Professor Emeritus of Economics at New York University’s Stern School of Business, is Chief Economist at Atlas Capital Team, CEO of Roubini Macro Associates, Co-Founder of TheBoomBust.com, and author of Megathreats: Ten Dangerous Trends That Imperil Our Future, and How to Survive Them (Little, Brown and Company, 2022). He is a former senior economist for international affairs in the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers during the Clinton Administration and has worked for the International Monetary Fund, the US Federal Reserve, and the World Bank. His website is NourielRoubini.com, and he is the host of NourielToday.com.

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0 Comments on this paragraph, 38 Comments on this article

Alex Alex Mar 14, 2017

They believe that only political changes are able to improve the folded situation. To offer to save the same political and economic course is maybe not the best way to treat this malaise. It is a total absurd to see in Putin and in the contemporary Russia something positive and something as should be an example for emulation. Now Russia is in deep, structural stagflation (don't even pay your attention on official inflation dynamics, it's a false - price tag tells another story). And the current state of affairs in not going to change in any direction - the tendency will continue. Seemingly, secular stagnation is a new normal, and time will only prove it...
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Luke Lea Nov 25, 2015

Sorry, while the trends are real the implications are not. Hyperinflation and reparations brought Hitler to power. What western Europe and US needs is liberal nationalism. The world will not come to an end, nor the global economy, if we restrict immigration and tax imports from low-wage countries like China. Will give us time to solve problems at home.
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lakshma reddy Nov 25, 2015

Why even Roubini claiming himself global economist is so much narsistic about his Europeanism, his conclusion identifying the integrated globalised supra national EU institution as if the global institution?

Does he mean globalism,globalisation,global governing institutions as equal to supranational body EU political institutions? Does he mean that UN an appendage to EU? Does he mean that global commodity prices as well as prices of goods and services and trade and finance is determined by market forces in EU not by truely global forces ?

I feel that economists have lost track some where or being psychologically coerced from acting dispassionately free from prejudice?

Though Roubini is right that nationalism is positively correlated to global economic crisis situations as happened in history,the same argument does not hold good for political or other governing institutions and therefore it is neither logical or economically congruent and in fact conflicting with electro magnetic type globalisation forces.

Globalised economies however imperfect in quantity has now appears to have reached a qualitatively different stage requiring the taming of its unbridled private and public actors on global scale to prevent disorder and disequilibrating actions private and public actors for global peace and progress and more so the climatic issues.

which political power is capable of regulating the unbridled global economic and national political forces? Will Roubini's EU INSTITUTIONS or for that matter any political block of nations say western or eastern nations military blocks formed on racial or other considerations displaying the military muscle will equal the power required for the purpose? This is the question now to be faced and answered by political economists and global leaders for good states man ship.

Who wrecked the league of nations and why? Who subverted the truly global political UN and made it to an imbecile institution after the 2nd world war against the cry of greatest visionery scientists and intellectuals? Now it is imperative by economic and political necessity to strengthen the UN as the truly federal democratic sovereign United nations government for peace and progress of humanity on planet earth.
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Alexander Shkilev Nov 10, 2015

As if the Syrian refugee flow triggered by external intervention into a sovereign country's internal affairs has predictable consequences.
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Alexander Shkilev Nov 10, 2015

Putin and his administration never opposed immigration, especially from former USSR Asian countries such as Uzbekistan, Tadzhikistan or Kazakhstan. Moreover, Putin's policy favors the immigration from 3-rd world countries since the immigrants offer cheap labor force, drug traffic and political support for increasingly unpopular Putin and his administration.
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Alexander Shkilev Nov 10, 2015

"pursues an agenda opposing the European Union (when the country is a member) or other institutions of supra-national governance. " - For the last 10 years or so Putin has been trying to create a form of Eurasian economic and political union between former USSR republics. Besides, Putin hardly ever used or uses nationalist sentiment preferring the policy of multiculturalism.
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Colombo Colombo Nov 8, 2015

N. Roubini is right to be interested in the rise of the populist parties in Europe, but he is wrong to see a resurgence of 1930's, and it is because he is himself steeped in the ideology of globalization, which did not exist in the 1930's, nor obviously globalization at the stage reached today, and still more tomorrow.
There have been losers of globalization in the European countries, at least losers of the economic development such as it has been taking place for a few decades, with in particular massive transfers of employment through relocations and offshoring, and increased competitive pressures. N. Roubini evades for example that at the current advanced stage of globalization, some companies organize competitions on a worldwide scale to feed their activity and that the new shapes of labour organisation rely on a greater precariousness.

It is not necessary to have envisaged the financial crisis of 2007/2008 to understand that in stagnant economies, immigrants indeed divert jobs from the natives or that the new immigrants do not contribute to the growth of the GDP per capita if unemployment is high - also among very skilled staffs, also necessarily victims of discriminations.
Like K. Rogoff and J. Delpla, N. Roubini reverses the logic which would consist in curbing immigration in a period of economic stagnation, and calls for reforms to integrate them, which has no sense (see the Colombo's comments attached to these articles: https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/europe-immigration-inequality-by-kenneth-rogoff-2015-05 , and http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/french-model-inclusive-capitalism-by-kenneth-rogoff-2015-10 ).

And if N. Roubini has the taste for a little more subtlety on such complex questions, he may read “Looking for the French identity”, http://archives.lesechos.fr/archives/cercle/2009/11/06/cercle_29903.htm , and also “The hidden rationale of the Sabeg report” concerning integration policies, http://archives.lesechos.fr/archives/cercle/2009/05/15/cercle_29895.htm .

More over, one can wonder whether N. Roubini has really understood M. Houellebecq's fears.
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timothy straus Nov 8, 2015

sacrifice the unique blend of cultures that has been Europe for one giant homogenized, bureaucratized and of course consumerized horde for the sole purpose of a efficiently participating in a globalized economy-for what end; the profits of transnational crony capitalist elites? Destroy the nation state, destroy the cultures, the uniqueness, the vibrancy of western civilization in order to enjoy what?
And you have it wrong. It is the destruction of community, of cultural and social cohesion that assure the dystopian tyranny's you mention--Brave New World and 1984 were written by Fabian Socialists, the goals of which are now being fulfilled in Europe and America . Destroy the nation, destroy the family, religion (first Christianity and them Islam, which is only being used as a tool to be sacrificed in a bloodbath sure to come), destroy community and social cohesion and the masses will be helpless to collectively rebell against the dictatorship of fascist capitalism and the tyrannical bureaucracies that serve it.
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Joshua Ioji Konov Nov 7, 2015

Dear Mr. ROUBINI, it is obvious that the Neo liberalism as well practised in the EU is not performing properly to Stearns enough business and prompt & maintain a increasing middle class - the ongoing Globalization and rising Productivity are not used properly by the ongoing trickle-down Capitalism but prompting stagnations and deflation, indeed! Therefore, the far right or left is taking over meaning to Stearns economic improvements.
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Boyd Hebog Nov 5, 2015

What would "acting decisively now" against popular movements rising to power through elections entail? A coup?
Employment and wages will not rise soon because to a large extent this malaise is the product of globalization and supranational governance -both of which you defend.
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Heidi Maurer Nov 2, 2015

It might a more careful differentiation between right-wing and populist trends to draw such far-arching conclusions. Also not sure at all why Kaczynski or others would be termed "illiberal capitalists". PiS is all about liberal market forces and reducing state intervention.
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Ivan Yu Nov 2, 2015

it seems to me quite illogical to call "right" a regime which increased a degree of government intervention, while everyone - including the author, - knows that it's a characteristic of the "left".
all mentioned in the article European political parties represent the left-wing.

another moment: you need two for tango. EU could be peaceful and inclusive, but if the other party would be aggressive and full of hate and not willing to tolerate different points of view, the author's proposal is a demonstration of wishful thinking.
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Stephen Brown Nov 2, 2015

Mussolini came to power in the early 1920s...
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Antonia Furla Nov 2, 2015

.....sent too quickly!
The downside of globalisation threatening labor legislation and demanding solutions for a lot of issues that the ordinary tax payer feel is not his/her concern does for sure lay the foundation for these extreme political parties. We need passionate AND knowledgeable leaders with an ability to deliver sustainabile solutions NOW! Not in a future where todays workers/tax payers are no longer around.
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Antonia Furla Nov 2, 2015

Not a supporter of these parties but somewhat aware of the reason behind their ability to find followers I recommend you direct your words to the leaders of the remaining political parties in thess countries. Those who appear to always wake up just a bit too late and find emergency band aid solutions to their countries' important welfare issues and on a supra nstional level to the refugee situation.
The box of insufficient, many times bad quality band aid being paid for by their only inventiveness, different types of taxation. Taxing but not providing, the downside of globalisation
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Matthew McCarthy Nov 2, 2015

Sounds like Roubini missed the whole political aspect of the situation. Politically the EU has been on an anti-democratic trajectory for several years, and while the economic issues may be fueling the issue, the nationalism is really a function of people seeing that they have democratic checks and balances at the national level that are not available at the EU level. The more the EU proves itself to be an anti-democratic bureaucracy the more it will fuel democratic nationalism. The dear 'center-left' and 'center-right' parties that most media types swoon over so far have refused to face the democratic shortcomings of the EU, which leaves it to parties of the hard right/left to carry the banner. The initial description of all the cases as "xxxxxxx-nomics" betrays this narrow economically focused view.
- Angela Papalamprou Nov 7, 2015
  
  Agreed. He missed many aspects of the individual countries he is talking about. You can't explain everything by economics Prof Roubini and you cannot control nations by a monetary union- the Eurozone failure is proof of concept but unfortunately a bunch of theoretical economists still do not get it. And anyway, leave the EU alone- why don't you look at your house? Maybe what you are referring to is more applicable to Mr Donald Trump.
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Michael Warhurst Nov 2, 2015

"But, to ensure this, macro and structural economic policies that boost aggregate demand, job creation and growth, reduce income and wealth inequality, provide economic opportunity to the young, and integrate rather than reject refugees and economic migrants will be needed."
It was the wealthiest 1% and the banks that they control that are responsible for building massive war machines. Why? For these financial elites war is there most profitable enterprise. This is why they financed Hitler, Mussolini as well as the war-hawks in Japan. Without the financing no war in the 20th. century would have been possible - and this trend continues today. Nationalistic leaders are precursors to some of the most profitable episodes of war ever - profits captured by ultra elite bankers and extracted as taxes on all workers.
While building war machines is likely the most profitable business it is unsustainable as more and more wealth is captured by the wealthiest bankers and their minions. Hitler et al created huge benefits for top bankers and the 1% and the cost was borne by taxpayers such that consumer demand in the USA and Britain never recovered enough to push their economies out of depression/recession until at the earliest 1960 with an asterisk for a few years mid to end of WW2 as economic military demand went up and millions of soldiers were absent from labour pools during this brief period, artificially creating demand in the labour force.
Your prescription for economic growth "boost aggregate demand, job creation and growth, reduce income and wealth inequality, provide economic opportunity to the young, and integrate rather than reject refugees and economic migrants will be needed." is entirely impossible without more war, after all that's what worked in the 20th. century!
Any system which demeans democratic governance through unnecessary debt giving sovereign power over to undemocratic corporate forces and elite created totally undemocratic alphabet soup elitist organizations like the IMF, World Bank, the BIS etc., is totally devoid and incapable of moral action or insight or benefits for the 90% - only the 1% and their cronies & henchmen.
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Peter Schaeffer Nov 1, 2015

It is astounding that even in 2015, we still see people talking how we should "integrate rather than reject refugees and economic migrants". Europe has tried this for decades and failed. Of course, the failure isn't Europe's. All too many of the (so-called) refugees bring minimal skills, hostile cultures, and values that assure failure (save as criminals and welfare recipients). A few years ago, Thilo Sarrazin wrote a book ("Germany abolishes itself") showing that integration hasn't work and isn't likely to work anytime soon.
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Peter Schaeffer Nov 1, 2015

“The most puzzling development in politics during the last decade is the apparent determination of Western European leaders to re-create the Soviet Union in Western Europe.”
― Mikhail Gorbachev
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John Doyle Nov 1, 2015

It's a combination of economic ignorance and wilful distortion by the EU with its destructive austerity policies and demographic circumstances, an ageing baby boomer generation, that is causing stagnation and deflation in Europe,and elsewhere. The wealthy boomers are spending less on projects and more on travel, and retirement needs. The saviour, if it ever comes will be when the millenials and similar cohorts reach their peak spending years and that is a decade away.
Meantime the ruling austerity mantra just exacerbates the problem, cutting the ground from under the millennial's prospects with [in the USA] student debt burden, lack or forward planning and budget surplus idiocy. Their future, being compromised in such ways is not a good sign of a future recovery.
What it means is deflation, even recession is here to stay unless a radical rethink of macroeconomics takes hold, such as explained by modern monetary Theory, MMT.
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Kent Welton Nov 1, 2015

the predictable result of fascist globalization, forced trade, the ruin of democracy, and private central bank thievery. The tyranny of the unelected global elite must end
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Wojciech Pasieka Nov 1, 2015

The current problems started in USA in 2008, and there were treated with a continuous money printing by the FED, as a cure. Recently the ECB is doing the same, but it will not work. The EU is structured in a way where the politicians in the emerging countries are seeing the infrastructure, built from the EU funds, which is a development engine, and at same time they are not able to explain to their voters what is their own real "genius" behind it. In Poland the previous government, the Civic Platform, on January 2015 had its own President, with the 70% of the approval rate, and the majority government which was doing whatever he wanted. And the Civic Platform brought itself down, in such an easy and stupid way, that it is even difficult to comprehend. It was a long list of the PR, Marketing, Political basic negligences - and it had noting to do with the Nationalism and Nativist populism. The Poles do not care about it, surrounded by a fast developing economy, and the opportunities for the money making. It is all about insulting their intelligence by the previous government. Basically speaking Professor Roubini do not understand a difference between a political logic, and the voters emotions, which are not same, or he doesn't have enough in-depth research done, to write this type of articles. Although, he is right in saying that the consequences of the same misunderstanding by the politicians may be severe.
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Peter Schaeffer Nov 1, 2015

The establishment continues to embrace policies that have demonstrably failed. "Free trade" has produced massive trade deficits, economic "hollowing out", deindustrialization, etc. Uncontrolled immigration has produced crime waves, banlieues, tournantes, massive welfare spending, unemployment, etc. The Euro has been a disaster of staggering proportions.

The globalization that Roubini extols has failed. It has certainly made elites richer (a core goal), but it has destroyed the lives of countless Europeans and Americans. Yes, globalization gives elites an opportunity to feel smug about migration policies that produce cheap labor... While the elites live in their gated communities and send their children to private schools...

The status quo has lost its legitimacy. Europe abandoned any pretense of legitimacy when the French and Danish rejections of the European constitution were ignored. Europe abandoned any pretense of legitimacy when it adopted the Euro without any democratic mandate or plan to make it work. Europe abandoned any pretense of legitimacy when it abandoned its borders and allowed massive invasions of economic migrants and welfare shoppers.

The globalization that Roubini is so enamored enriches the economic elite and rewards the illusions of moral superiority that the cosmopolitans are so fond of. It produces "Dans l'enfer des tournantes" for everyone else.

Time to tear it down.
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eusebio manuel Nov 1, 2015

I´m not political I´m working on my line rying to change the europe instead we are concerned about all this mess that exists in the corridors of parliament europe am in favor of the state union
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Rocco Doni Nov 1, 2015

The actual EU is a Dystopia: a non democratic entity aimed to the distruction of national european democracies. And the euro monster is its armed wing.
This is becoming everyday more and more apparent.
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arnold ahlert Nov 1, 2015

You gotta love it: the desire to maintain national sovereignty and liberty equals "illiberal state capitalism, led by populist right-wing authoritarians."

Nice try, Nouriel, but transnationalist avarice and lust for power, which views everything--even human beings--as nothing more than commodities, couldn't hit the ash heap of history soon enough for me
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Milton Churchill Nov 1, 2015

"Failure to act decisively now will lead to the eventual failure of the peaceful, integrated, globalized, supra-national state that is the EU, and the rise of dystopian nationalist regimes."

It is obvious that the Union itself is causing the rise in Fascism, not helping to prevent it. To think otherwise shows complete ignorance or financial support directly from pro-EU forces.

And populism, if that is what you prefer to call it, is a far-left phenomenon, not far right. Populism, Fascism, are manifestations of Socialism, not classical liberalism. The solution is for government to get their hands out of peoples pockets and leave them alone, not more taxes theough dirct or inflationary means and forced internment in the EU death camp, which based on current trajectory is where this is headed.
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j. von Hettlingen Nov 1, 2015

Nouriel Roubini is extremely worried about the spread of "illiberal state capitalism", whose economic policies are said to be adopted by "populist right-wing authoritarians". He says lingos like Putinomics, Órbanomics, Erdoğanomics, or Berlusconomics, and perhaps Kaczyńskinomics all share the "same discordant theme" - an "economic malaise" that prompts those, who "oppose free trade, globalization, immigration" etc. to look to leaders of "outright nativist, racist parties" who address their concerns, and who also exhibit "authoritarian and anti-democratic streak."
The rise of right wing populism has been a direct result of the failure of the left and centre parties to reach out to the disgruntled, who fall prey to polarised debates. These populists also want to send the signal to the establishment that neoliberalism - a theory that favours free trade, privatization, minimal government intervention in business, reduced public expenditure on social services, is past its sell-by date.
There is little difference between corporatism and "illiiberal state capitalism". Adherents of the latter oversee the modification of their countries' economic system from private capitalism to a varying degree of state ownership and control, claiming economic nationalism would create jobs and boost growth. They hold that a nation’s economy should be run for the benefit of its own citizens - guided by the idea of protecting domestic consumption, labour and manufacturing, "particularly state-owned enterprises and private business and financial groups with ties to those in power."
They favour the imposition of tariffs and other restrictions on the movement of labour, goods and capital and are the avid opponents of the freetrade agreement, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the European equivalent of the Trans Pacific Partnership. If their countries are EU members, they pursue "an agenda opposing the European Union... or other institutions of supra-national governance."
Roubini says "this rising tide of illiberalism makes avoiding a break-up of the eurozone or the EU ever more vital." He points out that in the 1930s "economic stagnation and depression led to the rise of Hitler in Germany, Mussolini in Italy, and Franco in Spain (among other authoritarians)." The Great Depression helped midwife "authoritarian regimes in Europe and even Asia, eventually leading to World War II."
It's unlikely that history would repeat itself, even though today's "illiberal leaders pursue the same "economic corporatism and autocratic style" as their "predecessors" in the 1930s. They are "nowhere close to inciting a war," because "center-right and center-left governments" are still strong, and they are "committed to liberal democracy" and welfare. This "toxic brew of populism" may just be dystopian. In a decade or so, we will all see it differently through the prism of history.
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Krzysztof Worytkiewicz Oct 31, 2015

Wrong on all counts, not even informed let alone researched. Roubini doesn't seem to understand that PiS is socially ultraconservative while economically neoliberal. Nor does has he realised that Italy's five star party is everything but left wing. Btw, Nouriel, Berlusconi's governance was as "anti-market" (whatever that means) as current candidates for GOP nomination. So please do some reading before writing (it is possible even in a crammed airport lounge) and, more importantly, understand that neoliberal capitalism doesn't necessarily entail democracy.
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Peter Verkooijen Oct 31, 2015

"... the eventual failure of the peaceful, integrated, globalized, supra-national state that is the EU, and the rise of dystopian nationalist regimes ..."

Your "peaceful, integrated, globalized, supra-national state" paves the way for the Orwellian dystopia. Rightwing authoritarians are the answer to over a century of leftist/progressive promises of what The State would provide. Obama paved the way for Trump. This is the type of leader that always emerges in bankrupt, collapsing welfare states - as Italy and Germany were in the 1920 and 30s. Hayek's Road to Serfdom laid out the process.
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R Richard Schweitzer Oct 30, 2015

But the institutions of the EU (e.g.) demean the individual as nothing more than part of "masses" that don't even rise to client status in their determinations.
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daniele simoncini Oct 29, 2015

So the recipe is to use socialism to fight socialism: one would call it "socialism by the back door". And also confusing free trade with free immigration, as if they were the same thing. And one more tip for non-italians: in Italy there has never been a dictator called "Berlusconi". And Mussolini went to power in the 20's, not in the 30's, and out of fear of a communist revolution, not economic depression
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Florian Pantazi Oct 29, 2015

Whilst capitalist stagnation is indeed the problem, the solution to emerging nationalisms and/or illiberal democracies would not be keeping alive a supra-national state, like the EU, led by conservatives bent on enforcing austerity, too large and too unresponsive to the needs of Europeans. In truth, the EU is closer to implosion than one might think and with every day that passes its leadership's policies resemble, to a very large extent, those of the Soviet Union before its demise.

It need not be like that, and growth in investment opportunities could be resumed, if only - as I have suggested since this summer - a two-union Europe resulting from a controlled break-up of the Eurozone would replace the current superstate. This solution to the problem has been advocated by German economist Alfred Steinherr and it entails an exit by Germany from the euro as a first step, and the formation of a northern European deutschemark zone, while the south could still keep a devalued euro as its currency. In the absence of a controlled break-up of the union into 2 smaller entities, a Soviet-style implosion of the EU could lead exactly to the scenario described in this article.
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Erikwim During Oct 29, 2015

Roubini is spot on. We are going back to the discussions Friedman, Hayek and Popper started directly after WWII, in their choice for free and open societies against societies built on totalitarianism and/or state-interventionism. We again see the dangerous threats to freedom in two camps fighting against deep recession. Today either a nationalistic/socialistic/conservative solution (Roubini calls it 'illiberal state capitalism') or a government-led/keynesian/entrepreneurial-state solution.

We are back to having to fight for our freedom. Freedom from states that are increasingly claiming Big Brother rights to 'protect' us, but then arbitrarily use such powers. Freedom from (democratically elected) rulers that use their given powers to undermine or eliminate true democracy. Freedom from massive government/business-elite powers that 'know what is good for us'.

Contrary to what Roubini is saying Europe at this point in time cannot be the solution. Europe is itself a collection of semi-totalitarian institutions, without proper democratic control. Thus a partial break-up of the Eurozone at this point in time could actually be a blessing, allowing the periphary to recover and restoring the political and economic balance in the EU. Fundamental democratic politics at this point in time can truely only be made at the national level. The EU would have to mostly limit itself to support such national democracy and move forward only on issues broadly supported by the EU-population, such as common border control, a move to common defence and a host of smaller initiatives (roaming, car emissions, etc). The EU could also selectively show its positive power going against vested interests to protect the large majority of people, by not signing a TTIP at this point in time, by protecting individual rights against Big Brother USA data-hunger, by the successes of the EU Court.

This would be a necessary time-out for the EU. To come up with a fundamental redesign of Europe. To come up with a ground-breakingly democratic idea. To restore the essence of one person one vote. To combine traditional representation with use of the possibilities for deepened democratic processes offered by modern technology. Each population of each country that would want to join such a deeply democratic Europe could do so by voting for the new European Constitution. So that we can leave behind this patchwork of clumsy compromises and government-by-treaty we totay call the "European Union".
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lakshma reddy Oct 29, 2015

Roubini has vividly described the ongoing nationalist trends threatening the supranational is Euro institutions with growing secular stagnation and it's similarity with 1930 political trends.Every one must note this and take steps to avoid repetitive catastrophic events.

Mr Roubini would have done a great service if he would have gone a step further and suggested for supra national sovereign democratic federal world government in Reformed UN.It was the cry of great phisicist Einstein and others who have foreseen the challenges and opportunities of new dicoveries in science and technology including the atomic energy that nationalist threat against globalisation in cases of economic crisis situation or national egostic like Hitler ism.

I Wish that Roubini will forward the idea as renowned political economist.
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TRIQUI AHMED Oct 29, 2015

Merci pour cette analyse que tout européen devrait lire et méditer. Nouriel Roubini s'oppose à cette loi de l'histoire qui défend aux contemporains de reconnaître dès leurs premiers commencements les grands mouvements qui déterminent leur époque. Sur l'Europe et son devenir avec la montée des extrêmes, il me vient cette phrase de Shakespeare : " So foul a sky clears not without a storm". ( Un ciel si sombre ne s'éclaircit pas sans une tempête).
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a b Oct 29, 2015

If I think of great literature like the mentioned George Orwell’s 1984 or Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, the US comes to my mind much more than Europe, the EU comes to my mind much more than individual European countries.
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