The European: Community identity is often based on a shared history, shared customs, shared symbols. Is there a comparable narrative in Europe?
Etzioni: I agree that a joint narrative is important. But right now, there is too much time pressure. When I talk about a referendum, I don’t see it primarily as a voting mechanism. I see it as a mechanism to force us into discussion and bring about shared values. Don’t relegate important decisions to experts and politicians in Brussels. Let us all take part. The more we are forced to become political decision-makers, the more we have to raise our own awareness of European issues. On that basis, shared new values will arrive. They can build on two European narratives, both of which have lost their power: One is the narrative of the first community of nations. After centuries of war, European nations made lasting, unprecedented peace. What a remarkable narrative! And two, Europe has struck a good balance between capitalism and the social good. The idea of the social market is the second European narrative.
Read the rest at The European Magazine.
