The international financial crisis is a sign that capitalism is also in its final throes, writes the newspaper NRC Handelsblad. "If for no other reason, the current financial crisis is a historic event because no one can maintain any longer that unlimited free trade automatically leads to a better world. And the old liberal fairy tale that the market always corrects itself has also been discredited. ... The late summer of 2008 will go down in history as the moment when the last political ideology of the 20th century experienced its demise. Almost 20 years after what looked like the definitive defeat of communism, the victor from those days is also down for the count. Both Cold War camps are now washed up. It will take a couple of years before the bankruptcy crystallises out. Then the 20th century will finally be over, just as the 19th century only ended in 1914." (26/09/2008)

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All available articles from » Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer

La Repubblica publishes an excerpt from the speech given today by the expert in business law Guido Rossi at the international civil rights conference of the Courmayeur Foundation. Rossi calls for a new legal framework for the capitalist economy: "The numerous modifications of the international business system introduced by the modern lex mercatoria, or Law Merchant, have not been able to forestall the crises that have rocked both society and the financial markets. ... In truth the crisis goes far deeper. The form of the large joint stock company has transgressed not only the traditional legal categories it was orginally founded upon, but also all of the most recent regulations - some of which are new and some of which were copied from other legal systems - and which go under the name of Corporate Governance. ... The old formulas are outdated. The joint stock company is on its last legs. A new phoenix must rise from its ashes. This new scientific paradigm must be far removed from the empty formulas of social market capitalism and the like." (26/09/2008)

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All available articles from » Guido Rossi

Developments in the global economy have raised a host of questions, writes the Estonian author Mihkel Mutt in the daily Postimees. "Has the free market economy been discredited? Or at least neoliberalism? Can we expect paradigmatic changes to take place? ... Since 2002 many financial managers seem to have acted like casino visitors who can no longer stop raising the stakes. The market economy would be perfect if people were rational, and only rational decisions were taken. But humans are not rational, they are also driven by impulse. ... It would only be sensible to step up regulation in phases of economic overheating. The earlier the bubble is burst, the fewer unpleasant surprises await us." (26/09/2008)

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All available articles from » Mihkel Mutt

According to the weekly newspaper Figyelő the international financial crisis has shaken Western capitalism to its very foundations. A shift of the economic centre [of power] towards Asia could be the result: "In the US a recession is inevitable, the Eurozone is stagnating and the emerging markets are slowing down. ... Liberal capitalism has constantly been confronted with new challenges and today it is experiencing one of the greatest shocks in its entire history. No one knows the solution to the crisis at present. ... Will the crisis bury the system of Western-style capitalism under its weight and shift the weight of the global economy towards the Far East for good? The situation is certainly dramatic, but this is unlikely to be the case. After all, the system most likely to bring correction and innovation is a system that combines capitalism and democracy. But it is nonetheless a distinct possibility that the capitalism we have in a few years' time is different from that we have now." (26/09/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Financial Markets, » Global

The EU interior ministers have postponed a decision on the admission of war refugees from Iraq until the end of November, prompting harsh criticism from the left-liberal daily Frankfurter Rundschau: "Of the many noteworthy capabilities of the European Union, one stands out among the rest: the Union is a virtuoso at playing for time. ... To the refugees this must look like scorn. Four million Iraqis have had to flee the violence in their country, and two million have found shelter in Syria and Jordan. The European Union likes to see itself as a force that backs peace. A quick decision on accomodating people in particular need of protection would have bolstered this image. But in fact it seems what the ministers are most concerned about now is playing down the difficulties." (26/09/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Migration, » Europe, » Iraq
All available articles from » Thorsten Knuf

Cotidianul newspaper argues that Europe's future will depend on how it tackles the immigration problem. "As our continent has fallen into a demographic abyss, no further arguments are needed in favour of importing workers. ... On the one hand even a developed country cannot shoulder the burden of international poverty on its own without sinking into anarchy. On the other, well-integrated foreigners are a better alternative than marginalised stowaways. ... Instead of preparing the next generation for inter-ethnic urban warfare we would be better off introducing biometric passports, linking up our databases and securing our borders. ... This leaves only the issue of cultural integration open. Germany and France, for example, recently introduced selection procedures. To acquire a work permit the candidate must have a good command of the language of the country in question and know all the constitutional dates. The other EU countries are likely to follow suit. But whatever happens, the post-war era in which millions of guest workers ran around on building sites without speaking a word of the language is a thing of the past. Rousseau's 'noble savage' is making a comeback, but this time round he got rid of his academic outfit and and is a post-modern Yuppie." (26/09/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Migration, » Integration, » Europe
All available articles from » Teodor Baconsky

Brane Kastelic, British correspondent for Dnevnik newspaper, writes about the influence of votes cast by Slovenians living abroad, drawing a comparison to the votes of British expatriates. "In the case of Slovenia there is a specific problem with votes cast abroad. ... Some voters living abroad believe that although they are now far from home they still have to combat the 'Reds'. If you judge by how many British emigrants have participated in elections until now, you could conclude elections have no significance for them whatsoever. ... But now that it looks like the upcoming elections [in the UK] will be a close race, a lot more people are talking about expatriate votes, which mostly benefit the Conservative Party. ... The Conservatives are now anticipating up to one million votes from abroad. No one is thinking about what the parties can do for emigrants, only about what emigrants can do for the parties. Pathetic! ... Rather than hoping (as in Slovenia) that votes from abroad will or will not be decisive for a victory, the parties should start thinking about why 39 percent (in the UK) and 36 percent (in Slovenia) of 'home' voters did not make use of their right to vote in the last elections." (26/09/2008)

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All available articles from » Brane Kastelic

The British government wants to introduce biometric identity cards - initially just for foreign students - as a means of combatting illegal immigration. The Independent sees the measure as an attack on the freedom of all Britons: "The Government is preparing for its planned nationwide roll-out of ID cards in 2011 by first imposing them on one of the most reviled groups in our society. It is the thin edge of the wedge. But we should not submit to such underhand tactics. ... The public mood has also hardened since the Government first hit upon the idea. Who can have witnessed the carelessness with which the state has treated our personal data in the past year and still feel confident about handing over such sensitive information to officialdom? Yet the most powerful argument against ID cards remains one of principle. The idea that we should routinely have to carry around a piece of card to prove who we are is an outrage. ... We do not need ID cards and anyone who wishes to defend our freedoms should stand up and tell the Government so with a clear voice." (26/09/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Migration, » United Kingdom

At a conference in Munich in 1938, Britain and France allowed Hitler's annexation of the Sudetenland, purportedly to save peace. Representatives from Czechoslovakia were not allowed to participate and felt betrayed by their allies. The US-based Anglo-Dutch writer Ian Buruma asks in a commentary for the liberal daily Sme what lessons the West has learned from the failed appeasement policy of the Munich Agreement signed 70 years ago. "After two catastrophic wars, Europeans decided to build institutions that would make military conflict redundant. ... In the United States, meanwhile, Munich has had a very different resonance. Here it has fed the Churchillian illusions of many a 'war president'. ... Americans (with initial reluctance) had to do the dirty work: in Yugoslavia, in Kuwait, against Saddam Hussein or in the war against terror. ... European diplomacy ... has strengthened the democracies of central and eastern Europe. ... But are the Europeans ready to go to war in the interest of others, for Example Georgia or Ukraine? It is time for European democracies to make up their minds. They can remain dependent on the protection of the US or they can develop the capacity to defend Europe, however they wish to define it, themselves. ... Europeans will probably just muddle on until a serious crisis forces them to act, by which time it could well be too late." (26/09/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » History, » Europe, » U.S.
All available articles from » Ian Buruma

According to Dutch daily De Volkskrant, the US's rescue plan for alleviating the financial crisis will lead to a shift in America's political power at a global level, and Europe will feel the consequences. "So to close the huge gap in the US budget, cuts will have to be made in the public sector. Well, the American dream had already become a nightmare for the poor Americans anyway. Major cuts in military spending were not to be expected. America is still a far cry from accepting the fact that it is no longer in a position to stipulate what happens in the world. The rest of the world is less and less willing to accept this. This will create new tensions that America will think it can solve through military means. For this reason alone Europe must pull itself out of the mess it's in unaided. But a common European foreign and security policy is still a long way off. One of the reasons for this is that along with the UK the Netherlands rejects almost every proposal America doesn't approve of." (26/09/2008)

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All available articles from » Marcel van Dam

In a surprise move the European Parliament's Environment Committee has overruled a proposal for a compromise in favour of the car industry. For the daily Süddeutsche Zeitung the decision, which was made jointly by Liberals, Greens, left-wing parties as well as a few Conservatives and Socialists, shows that EU politicians are guided by their consciences in this matter: "The putsch in the Parliament is more than another of those Brussels farces. The voting results show that members of the European Parliament do indeed take more liberties than MPs elsewhere. It also shows that a few of them have the courage to vote for real change. If by the end of the year carmakers are obliged to make more environmentally friendly cars for the first time ever, this will be above all thanks to the unpredictable diversity of the parliament in Brussels." (26/09/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Environmental Policy, » Infrastructure / Travel and Transport, » Europe

Education is the key to the future, argues Roger Nilles in the daily Luxemburger Wort: "According to this [maxim] it's possible to tell from an early stage in an individual's life whether he's on ... the winning or the losing side of life - provided you define success in terms of knowledge, skills and opportunities. The maxim 'Knowledge is power' proves true and thus causes difficulties not only for the many people with a 'migration background'. ... If in a globalised and complex context, education determines who (helps) shape the future and who gets left behind because of lacking education ... the full extent of the mandate of schools and other educational institutions becomes clear. ... In addition to willingness to reform, preparing the members of tomorrow's society for adult life requires full commitment, joy in one's work and a good measure of idealism. ... We see many examples of how non-functioning educational structures lead to mismanagement of a country in the 'third world' countries. ... Education ... should nonetheless not be left to schools alone. It must be nurtured at home, in one's free time and in everyday life through appropriate medial or cultural and social activities." (26/09/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Luxembourg, » Europe, » Global
All available articles from » Roger Nilles

Today is the European Day of Languages. The weekly magazine Kultura asks Bulgarian poet Zweta Sofronieva about her relationship to language and to linguistic diversity in Europe: "For me language isn't just one single language, but something all languages are capable of saying. What I mean is something that awakens in me the feeling that a given word exists. In fact what interests me is the still unnamed, the search for language. ... We inhabit a language, we live in it. And I love having many domiciles, and all their nooks and crannies. ... Interaction between languages keeps them alive no less than attempts to preserve their purity. Sometimes I pay more attention to the correct Bulgarian usage when I'm writing in German or English, or when I'm translating." (26/09/2008)

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All available articles from » Tsveta Delcheva

The daily newspaper Corriere della Sera describes France's reform of its presigious administration academy the ENA (École Nationale d'Administration) as an act of revenge by French President Nicolas Sarkozy: "This can be seen either as Sarkozy's revenge on the elite or, from a right-wing point of view, a 'mini '68' - with analogue consequences: on the one hand the abolishment of the 'classement', the final classification of the candidates and the attendant privileges, and on the other the extension of admission rights to a wider section of the population. The goals are ultimately the same: improving the efficiency of managers in public administration. But apart from the socio-political interpretations, this reform represents the revolution of one of the strongholds of the institutional system, conceived in cultural terms by Napoleon and established by De Gaulle in 1945 with the goal of ensuring optimally educated high-level functionaries for the state in the post-war era. ... Sarkozy, who graduated from a normal university and not the ENA, had long since set his sights on the academy, which he regards as an archaic model, unsuitable for meeting the requirements of a modern state and too exclusive regarding social differences." (26/09/2008)

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All available articles from » Massimo Nava