"Europe's Worst Enemy Is Europe Itself"

Abstract

For a half century now, Europe has been beset by the torments of repentance. Reflecting on its past crimes-imperialism, fascism, Stalinism-it sees nothing more in its long history than continual episodes of slaughter and plunder culminating in two world wars. The average European, man or woman, is highly sensitive, forever ready not only to be moved by the world's misfortunes but to claim responsibility for them. For proof, we need only look at the evening of September 11: in spite of their compassion for the victims, a majority of my fellow French citizens arrived at the conclusion that the Americans had deserved it. But let there be no doubt: the same reasoning would have prevailed had the terrorists destroyed the Eiffel Tower or the Notre Dame cathedral. Someone strikes us, we must be guilty. Of our own accord, we validate our enemies' claims in the judgments we bring to bear upon ourselves. Europe has, of course, given birth to its share of monsters, but it has also, in the very same movement, given birth to the theories that would make it possible to understand and destroy those monsters. Here lies Europe's great paradox: feudal despotism engendered democracy, an oppressive Church gave rise to critical thinking, overseas conquests led to anti-colonialism, and revolutionary ideologies have ended up generating anti-totalitarian thought. Similar to a jailer who