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Ramoneda, Josep
4 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
Josep Ramoneda on the importance of cities for European identity
Whereas the nation as a concept of unity is a relatively closed structure, the way people live together in cities offers the openness that Europe needs, Josep Ramoneda states in the left-liberal daily El País: "The city is above all a place with an open identity. A place in which one can find a common denominator among all the strangers that comprise it. This is a minimal identity but one that closely resembles that required to construct a European consciousness. An identity based on the recognition of others and on the defense of a European model which includes all the elements of urban culture: shared sovereignty among strangers, political solidarity, diversity and conflict as bringers of opportunity and change, and negotiation and dialogue as a way of relating to one another. Without the necessity of ... bowing down before a deity, be it the fatherland or one's religion."
» full article (external link, Spanish)
More from the press review on the subject » Architecture / Cities, » Integration, » Philosophy, » Europe
No return to tribal politics
Against the backdrop of rising unemployment the voices rejecting immigrants are gaining force in Spain. With an eye to the upcoming regional elections El País warns about populist politicians who try to win votes with xenophobic slogans: "Quite apart from the moral arguments there are also political and economic ones. Patriotic protectionism would be catastrophic in both areas. The answer to neo-liberalism lies not in re-erecting national bastions but in a reform cosmopolitanism based on strengthening political institutions at an international level and also the means for these institutions to control economic power. We will be ill prepared for this paradigmatic change if we return to the old attempts at inbreeding and the logic of exclusion. But the temptation for politicians is great and it grows as the elections draw closer."
» full article (external link, Spanish)
More from the press review on the subject » Migration, » Integration, » Spain
Josep Ramoneda on the burying of the May '68 legacy
The Spanish writer Josep Ramoneda considers the legacy of May 1968, which was very present in the French presidential election campaign. "In his election campaign, Nicolas Sarkozy announced the burial of May 68. However, having become President of the Republic he hasn't taken the trouble to organise a funeral. ... Sarkozy committed two mistakes. The first is typically French: they forget that other events [Student revolts in Berkley, Berlin, ...] took place beyond France. The second is characteristic of the right which doesn't realise that capitalism, thanks to it's capacity for change (which was one of its advantages over communism) and the liberal right were the main beneficiaries of 68. ... So why has Sarkozy presented himself as 68's grave-digger ? ... Given the fact that his cultural terrain is the right, it was easy for him to go find the target of his moral rupture in the left's mythology. This was the purpose of May '68 in his electoral discours."
» to the homepage (external link, El País)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Social movements, » France, » Europe
Anna Politkovskaya's murder: how should the West react to Russia?
The Spanish journalist and essayist, Josep Ramoneda, deplores the leniency displayed by western powers regarding Moscow. "After the assassination of Politkovskaya, will everything continue to go on in the same way? I fear this will be the case and that things will be taken no further than the ritual demonstrations and declarations of faith in Russian justice. Sheer sarcasm. Why such a fear of Putin? The reason, supposedly objective, given to me confidentially by left-wing and right-wing European leaders, is fear of Russia. The Soviet Union was a time bomb, the explosion of which could have blown up the whole wide world. Putin was able to put things in order and avoid chaos. Our democratic leaders do not condemn authoritarian leaders when it is a question of resolving conflicts on foreign territories."
» full article (external link, Spanish)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Russia, » Europe
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