From e-flux, Franco Berardi Bifo on exhaustion and senile utopia of the coming European insurrection. From Vanity Fair, long used to tragedy, Ireland suddenly found itself one of the world’s richest nations in the early 2000s, at which point the Irish people, banks, and government did their best to screw things up. "The Nordic Way"? When it comes to things like state versus private ownership or merit versus equality based pay, the Swedes are not especially leftist. Tyler Cowen had a reader ask him a question: why isn't France an economic backwater? Here's why. The most feminist place in the world: After a testosterone-fueled boom and bust, the women of Iceland took charge. The German left’s defence of Europe: While Angela Merkel opts for a narrow definition of the German interest, the opposition champions a return to European collectivism based on leftist values. Slavoj Zizek on how Europe must move beyond mere tolerance. The decimation of indigenous industry in central and eastern Europe has created a low-wage hinterland on the fringes of the highly developed core. Airport security in Europe tends to be more discreet than in the U.S., but an industry group wants to change that. Cross-border marriages are increasing in the EU — but what happens when couples discover that European union does not extend to the divorce courts? Geocurrents takes a look at the Eastern Finnic peoples in world history (and more).
