The
United States and the European Union are not typically thought of on either
side of the Atlantic Ocean as commensurate, and thus comparable, at least as of
2015 as I compile the essays in this text. Nevertheless, I contend that both
polities are empire-level federal systems—federal in the modern sense, wherein
the states and the federal level government share governmental sovereignty. If
I’m correct in my categorization, we could evade the mistaken prescriptions
that naturally ensue from category mistakes by comparing France, for example,
with Texas rather than the entire U.S., and California not with the E.U. but,
rather, with Italy. Useful lessons for the E.U. would come from looking at the
U.S., and vice versa. Keeping the (member) states distinct from their
respective federal levels is rarely if even done in making trans-Atlantic
comparisons.
Accordingly,
I present a collection of my essays on federalism applied to the E.U. andU.S. so the ubiquitous category-mistakes might finally be viewed as antiquated
and useful lessons may be drawn on both sides of the Atlantic to fortify the
respective federal empires of (member) states. The essays in Part I emphasize
EU-US comparisons. The second and third parts focus respectively on the
European Union and the United States, with comparisons and contrasts brought in
as needed. I contend generally that both federal systems are in need of
improvements to be viable over time. Whereas the E.U.’s risk is dissolution,
consolidation at the expense of federalism is the danger facing the U.S. as of
2015. Ideally, a federal system has in its design structures and processes that
tend the system itself into having a balance of power between the states and
the federal-level governmental institutions. Only thusly can the states provide
a check on federal encroachment, and the federal institutions check wayward
states. In seeking to realize this benefit, Europeans and Americans could do
worse than draw comparisons without committing a category-mistake.
Videos on YouTube: http://youtu.be/xinF5zjHV0Q and http://youtu.be/qqemCjiWZSM
A Related Audio: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thewordenreport/2013/07/08/the-eu-and-us
