Union

Nicolás Gómez Dávila, a Colombian – despite this, or perhaps because of it – critical Western thinker, wrote in the last century: “Traveling to Europe is like visiting a house where the servants show us the empty rooms in which brilliant parties once took place.”

Many, agreeing with Dávila, think that Europe: was, we think: will be. But for this, Europe must learn to look at itself primarily as European, and then at the world too. This is not, or not only, a political question. And I dare to claim this also because Dávila didn’t see what Transylvanians can see, that for example, the fortress-like houses of the Saxons sold out by Ceausescu are not admired by visitors but inhabited by new settlers.

According to one of my favorite philosophers, Ludwig Wittgenstein: “…even when all possible scientific questions have been answered, the problems of life remain completely untouched.”

Presenting European life problems: this is the task.

Our questions, therefore, are life questions. The debate about the future of the European Union, thus our decisions made in its present, cannot be merely theoretical; our hides are at stake. We must not give scientific or philosophical answers to life questions, but ones whose feet reach the ground. We are looking for life answers. Life answers that result in a more livable European posture.

Because Europe is capable of renewal. Throughout its history, its redesign was mostly successful when it rediscovered its spiritual-cultural roots. Therefore, we too must take stock of our heritage.

Let’s start from the fact that the world looks the way it does today because we, Europeans, were brave. Brave and curious. We changed the world. With all its merits and downsides.

We discovered and populated America.

We discovered and populated Australia.

On both continents, the indigenous population suffered from European expansion. As indigenous Europeans, we therefore know exactly what awaits us if another culture and civilization with a stronger identity, more innovative, braver, gains ground on the old continent.

We subjugated Africa. A Polish writer already identified in the second half of the last century the two symbolic objects that Africa owes to us: plastic dishes – and weapons suitable for serial killing.

We colonized India and wanted to force Indians not to live their own lives. They chose their own lives and won against us.

We tried two options with Asia: when we traded with the Far East, we generally did well; when we waged war, we always did poorly. The same applies to the Middle East. The conclusion is not so complicated: trade, don’t wage war.

What a surplus of power flowed out from here! This is hopeful for the future. At the same time, let it also be a warning: we ultimately failed at terraforming. The diversity of the world resisted the Western homogenization campaign. The parts of the world preserved their own characters. Consequently, in the future, we must not shape the world to be European, but preserve Europe’s European character. It will be difficult. Because currently, due to the Brussels elite, Europe is in a state of non-existence, although there would be a need for it.

So there was a Europe to which we committed ourselves more than eleven hundred years ago. There is a European Union of which Hungary has been a member for twenty years. The borders of the Union do not coincide with the borders of Europe. The two are not the same either in time or space.

Europe as an idea is a world-shaping force, the European Union is a narrowed state of consciousness.

All things considered; the solution may come if we think not only in terms of the Union but in terms of all of Europe.

Notes:

Philosophical references:

Nicolás Gómez Dávila: A Colombian philosopher known for his conservative and critical view of modernity.

Ludwig Wittgenstein: An Austrian-British philosopher, famous for his work on logic and language.

Historical and political context:

The text reflects on Europe’s colonial past and its current position in the world.

References to Hungary’s 20-year membership in the EU (joined in 2004).

Mentions “more than eleven hundred years”, alluding to Hungary’s history since its founding around 895-896 AD.

Cultural references:

Transylvania (Erdély): A region now part of Romania, with significant Hungarian population and history.

Mention of Saxons sold out by Ceaușescu refers to the mass emigration of Transylvanian Saxons during Romania’s communist era.

Linguistic notes:

“Our hides are at stake” (A mi bőrünkre megy a játék): A Hungarian idiom meaning “it affects us directly”.

“Terraforming” is used metaphorically for cultural influence, not in its usual science fiction context.