Euro - good or bad&;#063;

The Euro - good or bad? Thoughts on the single currency.

? R. Eric Swanepoel 2001

The debate in the UK is confused. If you are for the single currency
you are assumed to be pro-European, left-wing and progressive.
Conversely, if you oppose the single currency you are seen to be
xenophobic, right-wing and reactionary. A little bit of reflection will
show how wrong this received wisdom is.

First, some background. The UK was one of the first European countries
to jump on to the free-trade bandwagon. This is generally attributed to
Thatcher, but, of course, the real force behind it was the large
multinationals. Stripped of its clothes, this free-trade "philosophy"
is revealed to be nothing less than the playing off of one country
against another in terms of such things as their rates of taxation and
workers' rights. Countries are engaged in an invidious Dutch auction
(pardon the pun!) to attract the dubious favours of "investment" by the
multinationals. Naturally, the politicians, engaged in selling their
people down the river, benefit substantially, through donations to
their parties and the like. Underpinning the notion of free trade (or
the way it is sold to the common man) is the "trickle down" theory,
which holds that benefitting the wealthy will inevitably benefit the
poor. Time and time again, this notion has been disproved. The
socio-economic divide has widened considerably, and socio-economic
disparity is by far the most significant correlate of poor quality of
life, ill-health and early death.

As the UK was one of the first European countries to wholeheartedly
embrace free trade, other European countries have been seen from these
shores to be left-wing, in favour of human rights etc. etc. This is
what is so heavily criticised by most mainstream British politicians -
they want the UK to have the right to squeeze its poorest citizens (by,
for example, reducing the tax on the wealthy to levels lower than those
of other countries) in order to attract the dubious favours of the
multinationals. In fact, Europe is also on a dangerous path towards
out-and-out free trade, but it's slightly behind the UK. The treaties
of Maastricht, Amsterdam etc. have an inevitable direction.

Now we come to the question of currency. A country's currency is a
valuable economic tool. By devaluing, one can make one's goods and
services cheaper and boost exports, and potentially jobs. On the other
hand, one might want to increase the value of one's currency in order
to stop things becoming overheated and to help those industries largely
dependent on imports. By surrendering democratic control of one's
currency (whether to the Bank of England's monetary policy committee or
to the European Central Bank) one is throwing away one of one's means
of control. In whose interest is this? There are many arguments about
the cost and hassle that businesses experience when currencies
fluctuate. Of course it is true that they like stability so that they
can make sensible plans. These arguments are well rehearsed and in the
open. What isn't publicly aired, however, is the major reason why the
largest businesses (the multinationals) favour the single currency. If
a country cannot compete for business by adjusting the value of its
currency, the only means by which it can attract investment is by
bearing down on the salaries of its workers, reducing their conditions
of employment, and reducing the levels of taxation to which the big
companies are subjected. Yes, it is all part of the destructive and
jejune philosophy of free trade!

So, if we have already surrendered control of our currency to the Bank
of England's monetary policy committee, what difference will it make if
the European Central Bank controls it? Well, even though the Bank of
England has the interests of big business in the south-east of England
at heart rather than those of the poor in Glasgow, say, at least it is
concerned with the UK. It is the very biggest pan-European (or global)
corporations who will be the biggest winners with a pan-European
currency. There is no guarantee that other entities (businesses or
countries) will benefit. Of course the larger entities also have the
most clout when it comes to influencing (bribing) governments.

So what about the term "pro-European"? I am "pro" the European people.
I am "anti" the surrender of democracy implicit in the European
project, and especially in the single currency. It is because I am not
xenophobic, but care about the poor of the world in whatever country
they may live, that I am anti the single currency.

Where does all this place the Conservative Party? Possibly in
disarray... or are they still further to the right of full-blooded free
marketeers such as Tony Blair? Would they manipulate our currency so as
to screw our poor even harder than any other country's poor in order to
"attract investment"? Ironically, I also do not want the UK to join the
Euro, but my reasons are very different!

*If you are interested in reading more, please see my essay on free
trade: http://www.abctales.com/abcplex/viewStory.cgi?s=500

*I have written a humorous (!) novel that suggests a means of
overcoming the stranglehold of the multinationals: The Computer Ager
(Saving the world, and being happy). It's also a love story. Although
you may view extracts from the first few chapter on this website
(http://www.abctales.com/abcplex/viewStory.cgi?s=6117), you'll have to
wait for the book to be published to find out how to save the
world!