The New Road to Serfdom: A Letter of Warning to America, Daniel Hannan, Harper-Collins (2010).
Hannan was elected to the European Parliament in 1999, at the age of 27, and has been re-elected twice. Given his lack of enthusiasm for the European Union, he must spend a lot of time arguing with his colleagues.
A bit of this flavor is conveyed on page 79. “I have lost count of how many times I have had variants of the following conversation with my fellow MEPs or with Commission officials.” The conversation begins with Hannan pointing out a problem, e.g., unemployment, with the response being that a resolution on point has been adopted. It matters not whether the resolution has proved effective, because the object is recognition versus a solution.
In the UK, as elsewhere, the EU government is increasingly setting policies that the national governments then carry out. Thus, at p. 24: “My own country is now largely administered, not by MPs or local councilors, but by what we call quangos: Quasi-Autonomous Non-Governmental Organizations.”
And while the British, French, Germans, etc. lack interest in the EU government, they have lost confidence in their national governments. The situation has gone so far – with isolated exceptions, such as Switzerland, which remains happily independent – as to be irreversible. Expect declining birth rates, massive immigration, and the growth of increasingly disaffected ethnic groups that live off the welfare state while seeking to disrupt and topple it.
Addressing America with reverence, Hannan suggests that you started out on a better path with a government of enumerated powers, federalism, etc. – but now seem to be making the same mistakes that we did. Our present is your future, unless you wake up in time. If you become just like the rest of us, the world will be the worse for it.
And what is the driving force for what has been happening? With regard to Europe, Hannan suggests a positive rationale: the initial drive for a European Union was motivated by a vision by uniting Europe so that another general conflict such as racked the continent so many times could never happen again. (One could make a similar argument for globalization, although this point is not developed.)
Bigger is not necessarily better, however, as captured by a quote from Aristotle at the start of Chapter 5. “To the size of the state there is a limit, as there is to plants, animals and implements, for they can none of them retain their natural facility when they are too large.”
Moreover, the preference of the “political class” for expanding the size and reach of government, while inevitably undermining private initiative, is attributed to self-interest. “After all, if the American system were better – if people and businesses could thrive without government supervision – there would be less need for politicians.” Page 84.
The writing is eloquent, well reasoned and generally well supported. Recommended reading!