George Will has an excellent column noting that Europe may well be in a death spiral. While Mr. Will’s contention that this can be traced to Europe’s embrace of secularism may or may not be entirely correct, there is no denying these demographics:
Europe itself is withering. On the day of John Paul II’s funeral, the European Union’s statistics agency reported that the decline of birthrates means that within five years deaths will exceed births in the European Union. By 2013 Italy’s population will begin to decline; the next year Germany’s will begin to drop. After 2010 Europe’s population growth will be entirely from immigration. By 2025 not even immigration will prevent declining fertility from accelerating what one historian calls the largest “sustained reduction in European population since the Black Death of the 14th century.”
In his new book “The Cube and the Cathedral: Europe, America, and Politics Without God,” George Weigel, biographer of John Paul II, argues that Europe’s “demographic suicide” will cause its welfare states to buckle and is creating a “vacuum into which Islamic immigrants are flowing.” Since 1970 the 20 million legal Islamic immigrants equal the combined populations of Ireland, Denmark and Belgium.
“What,” Weigel asks, “is happening when an entire continent, wealthier and healthier than ever before, declines to create the human future in the most elemental sense, by creating a next generation?” His diagnosis is that Europe’s deepening anemia is a consequence of living on what he considers the thin gruel of secular humanism that excludes transcendent reference points for cultural and political life. Such reference points are, he thinks, prerequisites for freedom understood as “the capacity to choose wisely and act well as a matter of habit.”
The sad thing is, the Euros think they are perfectly healthy. And they delight in feeling superior to us ignorant Americans. Hmm, maybe being delusional is but one symptom of their illness. Still, since they appear clueless as to their peril it is unlikely they will wake up and take some much needed medicine before its too late. No doubt when the Islmofascists take control, they will expect us to come riding to the rescue (again). But I expect we are going to have our hands full with China.
Well, thanks for the memories Europe. Before you all became pussies and wimps, you had some glory days. Perhaps we can take lessons from your coming demise and avoid your self-inflicted fate. As I recently told someone who was talking about the useless French: “No nation is entirely worthless. It can always serve as a bad example.”
Via The Anchoress
Good post, John. I think there is something to be said for an embracing of secularism that leads to a country’s eventual demise. The philosophy or worldview of Secular Humanism provides no grounds nor basis for morality and without a real sense of morality a country turns inward, loses its desire and will to fight for the good of all and eventually collapses in on itself. That is not to say that there aren’t “good, secular” people in the world, but they are “borrowing” their moral beliefs from theism. They “have” morals but they can’t tell you where they come from. Theism is the only worldview that can give logical account for morality (or rationalism, for that matter). For instance, how does one determine what is “right” and what is “wrong” unless there is an objective standard to weigh an action against? Right and wrong become arbitrary. We see this happening with France now, one of the most secularized countries in the world. Where is there compassion for those outside of France? Where is their sense of loyalty to their friends? Where is their sense of right and wrong? To them, opposing the liberation of Iraq is “right” and cooperation with the rest of the world is “wrong.” Looking out for their own interests is “right” and remaining loyal to her allies is “wrong.” Arbitrary. The fact is, without God, all things are permissable. All things are “right”…including the right to self-destruct. I won’t go too far into how we see this played out between the two parties within our own country because I don’t want any more hate mail than I’m sure to get over what I’ve already said, but there are certainly implications. Just today I posted on Howard Dean saying, “Are we going to live in a theocracy where the highest powers tell us what to do? Or are we going to be allowed to consult our own high powers when we make very difficult decisions?” I’m not calling for a “theocracy” in the sense he used the word, but Dean built a campaign on his own high powers which couldn’t have been more liberal in every sense of the word, including national isolationism (Is he French?). That’s what secular humanism provides. Thanks, John. Again, good post.
Oops…my old blog URL listed with my last comment.
Actually England is the most secular but perhaps you don’t consider England as part of Europe?
I too read Geroge Will’s column this morning; however, I came to a different conclusion than you. His entire premise of Europe’s demise is deeply flawed and I hate to use the term racist because it isn’t entirely accurate, but yeah sort of racist. To begin with Europe is a place. It isn’t going anywhere unless there is a major upheaval in the earth’s plates, an asteriod hits it or some other disaster that would not only end Europe but all of earth. What Will is really saying is that white Christians in Europe are declining, along with white secular minded people. Europe’s population is growing as Will noted primarily through an influx of brown Muslim people. Guess what, they are still European. White American is also disappearing just as quickly as white Europe. Our population is also growing thanks to immigration. Okay so white people hundreds of years from now are a minority and Christians are a minority. Is that such a horrible thing? Religions die out and new ones spring up even faster. I refuse to even debate whether or not the continued progress of civilization rests on the continued dominance of white people. That is just too stupid. So what it really comes down to is a fear of Islam. If Islam is the enemy of civilization then ousting Hussein was a grave mistake since he actually embraced a secular government model in an country where Islam is the main religion. Based on the notion that Islam is the true enemy, rather than ousting Hussein we should have helped him make iraq into a model state. Now that is is gone and the Shiites are gaining more control the morality police are out in numbers, back in style and pulling the same crap they did in Afghanistan. Go figure.
The decline and death of a culture might seem like a bad thing to an observer, but unless it is a cataclysmic destruction as I remember from my life in Atlantis, it is a progression as natural (and bittersweet) as being born, aging and finally passing away. Ancient Egyptian culture spanned three millenia. There is still an Egypt, but the people are Arabs now, with a different language, religion and culture. The same is true of Rome and Greece. Well, I guess they still speak Greek. I am just commenting, not trying to edify anybody. Change is usually tolerable because it usually doesn’t happen in a lifetime. While the birthrate in Europe is declining, it is thriving elsewhere, and the only danger to the human race is from its own ability for self-destruction. European culture will pass into history, and as Carol has noted, we will not recognize the America of our descendants. The sooner the Euros go, the better. I have to wonder what is up with these people clinging to their ridiculous monarchies. I guess it is their only link to their glorious years of pillaging colonialism, but it is hard to think of any
European monarchs who weren’t murdering despots. So why revere their ineffectual descendants?
What a joke. Basic f’ing sociology explains that as a society advances the birthrates will decline and, incidentially, religion will lessen. But I guess Will doesn’t need knowledge on his side while he has religious bigotry. As Mom pointed out the birthrates in America are falling also.
What I think is particularly amusing is that it isn’t just decling birthrates that are going to cause European society to implode, it is the combination of that with their huge welfare state. I personally don’t agree with the quasi-socialist way they run their countries-but I am sure Jesus would. He would want them to be taking care of the poor I imagine. I think that is a bone Will and others of his ilk ought to chew on before they get up on their soapbox.
You are so right Ashley. Jesus was a socialist!
When the American population becomes majority hispanic & black will that make them any less American? And just because Americans don’t take care of their poor and don’t provide universal health insurance, does that make the USA any more humanistic. Not everybody can become a Federal Employee, and be brainwashed.
and a sad thing is that Americans think they are completely healthy despite; the widening gap between rich and poor, American declining wages for 35 years, and bragging that only Federal Employees are the only ones left with grand benfits like pensions that are not ripped off or excellent health care, or unions and arbitration, or the dwindling American middle class, or the debt ridden American consumer, or 20% credit card rates (Europe 3-9%) is not the perfect model.
John you may have the last word …
Trashing Europe is one way to refocus the attention away from the burgeoning problems here in America caused by capitalism run amok.
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