The End of EUtopia

“In the past politicians promised to create a better world. They had different ways of achieving this but their power came from the optimistic visions they offered their people. Those dreams failed and today people have lost faith in ideologies...But now, they have discovered a new role that restores their power and authority. Instead of delivering dreams, politicians now promise to deliver us from nightmares…”

So says Adam Curtis in the introduction to his film, 'The Power of Nightmares', which we screened to much acclaim this month in Manhattan. His words could have been written in response to the following story from eupolitix.com which describes the cynical harnessing of public fears, not by the neo-cons, but by the bureaucrats of the European Union.

The dream that failed in this case is that of European integration, as signaled by the widespread rejection (where politicians dared to put the question to the public) of the European Constitution. So to get their project back on track, the politicians are resorting to a series of initiatives aimed at scaring European citizens into a closer relationship. These stress the need for centralization to offset the dangers of crime, terrorism, and environmental degradation.

Much of the language is shockingly explicit. States one official, "Security is increasingly becoming a concern of people in Europe. But it is a concern that is accompanied by a feeling of certainty that… the most effective response in the field of security is the European response." But this and other quotes also make clear that politicians believe they are responding to a public desire for greater securitization. As we have written here before, it is not that our representatives invent the fears and then manipulate us into believing them. It is that they respond to wider social insecurities, adapting their programs and language to take advantage of this phenomenon.

Once upon a time Europe might have been united by the democratic fervor ignited by the French revolution. This was a Europe that promised liberty, equality and fraternity; a Europe that promised its citizens a greater degree of control over their lives than was believed possible a dozen years before. A sad indictment of our age then, that the Eurocrats now believe the best way to appeal to those same citizens is to paint a picture of the dark possibilities likely without their further intervention.