If youth believe in Europe and express this belief when addressing politics in discussions, using appropriate forums, in demonstrations, and in election rallies, politicians will not be able to ignore this movement. My generation, which has already reached a more advanced age, and the intermediate generation feel disappointed by Europe, and many of us think that Nations are much better equipped to face today’s problems. Everything would be much better if each country had its own currency and could then devalue these currencies if needed, all of them against all of them. Of course, this would not work but it fits very well with the modern era, where individualism is King and the community and commitment to others are not en vogue. I believe that the younger generation is more enthusiastic than we, the older people. And then, why on earth, not being enthusiastic about an ideal that could be achieved in practice? These young women and men would later be proud of their Europe and their children and grandchildren would be grateful to them. Since the end of the 18th century, the effort to mitigate the dichotomy between the individual, on the one hand and the community on the other hand has focused on the creation of nations and belonging to such a nation. The nation was the supreme good and the individuals were going to sacrifice their lives to defend this nation. Hegel says in his "Phenomenology of Mind" that the individuals of a people and their nation find themselves in the same spirit to form a whole, an entity. He even talks about the spirit or mind of the people (people in the sense of the sum of the inhabitants of a nation). Jean-Jacques Rousseau also expressed similar ideas in his "The Social Contract". Well, today things appear a little differently. The modern individual wants to conceive and understand himself or herself as an individual. The identification with the nation does not really work any longer, which, naturally the conservative part of the population regrets, but the 'progressive' part accepts as an inevitable trend. In a broader whole, namely Europe, this dichotomy would have no reason to exist, because Europe does not have the same demand on the individual as the nation. Today's younger generation in Europe is probably the first generation since the emergence of the nation as a principle of cohesion between its members that does no longer regard it as their first duty to sacrifice their lives for the sake of the continued existence of their nation. They see attractive alternatives to the nation and they would be happy to persuade politicians to explore these alternatives. On the other hand, the individual may well feel integrated in the local or regional environment. To me it seems that we should be thrilled by this solution and do everything to get there. One should perhaps also think about a new 'social contract '? In the future, there will be more and more people in Europe, who will lead a life of great mobility, similar to mine. This is due in part to the fact that the nation has become too small for them and they thus escape from this encumbrance to enrich their lives. Moreover, mobility is a big plus at the time where jobs are scarce. People expect more from Europe, than it is prepared to give them. They will be disappointed and physically and/or mentally turn their back on Europe if the creation of a truly federal European Union (and without fatherlands) is not soon vigorously re-launched. I have already noted in another context, that living together here on Earth is only rarely guided by reason. Emotions, individual or collective interests, passions, benefits in the short term, etc. have always been the stronger stimulus. And this also applies to politics. However, the current situation is such, that politicians in Europe cannot any longer afford such luxury. We are now at a threshold where Europe must opt for a wakeup to attain moral and political greatness or for the gradual but irresistible decline to insignificance (in which you can
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