The EU Referendum: The Case for a Socialist Yes Vote
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- Published on Wednesday, 15 June 2016 22:30
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A Socialist Project e-bulletin .... No. 1270 .... June 16, 2016
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The EU Referendum:
The Case for a Socialist Yes Vote
John Palmer
What attitude should socialists take to the referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union (EU)?
It is possible to trace the roots of the movement for European unity and integration to the inter-war decades. A number of loosely linked groups -- some led by radical federalists including socialists, liberals and supporters of the League of Nations -- argued for a federal, united Europe.
The coming to power of Italian and Spanish fascism and Adolf Hitler's Nazi dictatorship swept such currents to the margins of political debate. One of the militants of this early movement for European unity was a young French professional economist, diplomat and businessman, Jean Monnet. His wartime... experience coordinating policy between the British government and the French resistance leaders led to his appointment by the post-war French government to integrate French and German steel production. This led to the launch of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), a supranational steel cartel run by the participating governments. Monnet, its first director general, argued, with some reason at the time, that the integration under supranational control of the steel industries of the key Western European states would make war between France and Germany not only undesirable but, in practical terms, impossible.
