The Left Case Against the EU

by Costas Lapavitsas

Many on the left see the European Union as a fundamentally benign project with the potential to underpin ever greater co-operation and progress. If it has drifted rightwards, the answer is to fight for reform from within.

In this iconoclastic polemic, economist Costas Lapavitsas demolishes this view. He contends that the EU's response to the Eurozone crisis represents the ultimate transformation of the union into a neoliberal citadel, which institutionally embeds austerity, privatisation and wage cuts. Concurrently, the rise of German hegemony has divided the EU into an unstable mixture of wealthy core and dependent peripheries. These related developments make the EU impervious to meaningful reform, particularly as its institutions are fundamentally designed to uphold the interests of capital against labour. The solution is therefore a direct challenge to the EU project that stresses popular and national sovereignty as preconditions for socialism and true internationalism.

Lapavitsas's powerful manifesto for a socialist opposition to the EU upends the wishful thinking that often characterises the debate and will be a challenging read for all on the left interested in the future of Europe.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Economics

160 pages, Paperback

Published December 10, 2018

Reviews

[Martin Empson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much of the debate around Brexit in the UK has been dominated by the idea that essentially the right-wing voted against the European Union and the left supported the institution. This is in sharp contrast to the debate when Britain joined the EU when the majority of the left opposed entry to the Common Market. In this important new book Costas Lapavitsas demonstrates the real role of the EU. For left-wingers, he argues, the EU is not to be celebrated. It is a capitalist instrument and is particularly geared towards imposing a neo-liberal agenda on its constituent countries.

Full review on the blog: https://resolutereader.blogspot.com/2...

[Ricky Bevins · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half of the book reads very dry and repetitive as Costas leans heavily on statistical data to make what feels like the same point over and over again, but I'd rather have a book too thick with empirical logic than one lacking such data.

The real magic of the book is the last two chapters, wherein the author leaps off statistical analysis and delves into the juicy conclusions and polemics you always wanted, given the title.

Definitely convinces you that the EU is no home to leftwing reform, nor is it some benevolent humanitarian project. Recommended for all British Remainers like me who need to find optimism from somewhere.

[Ronak Patel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book detailing giving a detailed, historical account of the EU's formation before diving deep into the causes and manifestation of the Eurozone crises & outlining clearly the 'winners' and 'losers' of the EU and the Eurozone. Lapavitsas' writing is sharp and incisive. He has complained before that the level of knowledge in the UK about the nature of the EU, why it was set up and how it exercises power has been poor so this was a timely release.

It's quite short so it's well worth the read for people across the political spectrum.

[Ian Pierce-Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is an idea that to be a part of the EU is progressive and modern. The politics of the economics of the EU is demolished in this book and the examples of Greece and the immigration crisis are discussed to demolish the myths of any moral sympathy for the EU. The detail on how the EU has become a transnational juggernaut driving through a neoliberal framework is carefully made.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Treball acadèmic convertit en llibre. Extensament documentant -envers 150 referències bibliogràfiques-, el professor i antic membre del govern grec Costas Lapavitsas defensa la tesi segons la qual els governs d'esquerra de la UE haurien de sortir de la Unió Econòmica i Monetària i, potser fins i tot, també de la mateixa Unió Europea. Dita sortida ve justificada pel fet de tractar-se d'organitzacions que no miren per la societat sinó per la liberalització de l'economia, amb mesures neoliberals com la concessió de crèdits sota exigències desmesurades als països que ho necessiten, especialment a aquells que presenten grans volums de deute públic. Nega, d'altra banda i a partir del fallit exemple de Syriza a Grècia i els seus tres rescats financers, que sigui factible combatre l'hegemonia del gran capital financer i econòmic des de dins d'aquestes institucions europees. Dóna força llenya a Alemanya, però també a Tsipras i Varufakis.

Tot i el caràcter acadèmic, el text crec que s'entén bé amb una lectura detinguda, llevat d'alguns conceptes macroeconòmics que el lector no experimentat en economia possiblement haurà de consultar. He trobat a faltar més arguments que recolzin la possible sortida de la zona euro o de la UE, més enllà d'argüir que si no han funcionat les receptes de la "troika" en el cas grec, la solució passa per dir adéu a Europa en la resta d'estats.

Recomanable, en qualsevol cas.

[Yiannis Moustakis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must-read for every leftist in Europe. It makes a strong case against the EU and harshly critisizes the delusional pro-EU parties of the European Left that consider the EU and the EMU as the equivalent of progress which can supposedly be reformed. Well-documented and thorough, easy to read ( probably requires some basic knowledge of economics though) . This book brilliantly manifests the importance of sovereignty and class relations at the national level, the misconception behind the german "miracle", the german hegemony over the EMU and the institutionalised and solidified neoliberal structure of the EU and offers the way out, as the only realistic alternative, through the prism of internationalist solidarity among the people of Europe.
Amid a strong shift in power relations from labour to capital over the past decades, Lapavitsas argues that a radical programme ( in the spectrum of post-keynesianism as the author admits) could serve as a starting point for a reverse shift in power that would give European people the hope they so desperately need.

[Parina Douzina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent analysis of how the EU works, or rather dysfunctions. He argues convincingly that the EU cannot be changes because it has the neoliberal austerity dogma hard wired into it and the Euro is the instrument whereby this policy is imposed and democracy is throttled. The case of Greece shows precisely how all this functions. I fully recommend this book,

[Simon Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Preaching to the converted, sadly. Written strictly for the faithful; nod to Gramsci, “hegemony” on almost every page and very dull. Great shame because the arguments (that the EU is not a force for good but a force for corporate trade) need to be heard and not be seen as the ramblings of some ancient tribe.

[Guilherme · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dry and serious investigation of what the EU is and what it does, as opposed to what we have projected upon it. Lapavitsas doesn't really need to make much of a "case" against the EU because merely describing how it works does much of the work. I wish some people in high places had read this a bit earlier.

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

By using concisely articulated and well-referenced examples, the author clearly explains why the left should be prepared to exit the EU to implement leftist national reforms. It critiques the notion that the EU can be reformed from within, and shows exactly why it hasn’t worked before. Easy to read and not long. I liked it!

[Daniel Lambauer · Rating 3 out of 5]

In part a good treatise arguing why the European project is a neoliberal project at its core that the left cannot and will not reform from within. this is probably closest to Labour’s leave argument.