Translated from the German original. Read the original in German.
A critical look from an armchair psychologist’s perspective.
🇪🇺 The psychology of European self-abasement
Watching Europe today, it is hard to escape the impression that the European Union is stuck in a pathological psychological state.
A continent that is strong, intelligent and principled – but paralysed.
Europe suffers from a collective form of “learned helplessness”.
Faced with global shifts in power, geopolitical aggression and technological disruption, Europe does not respond with agility but with its familiar toolkit: regulations, directives, committees and compromises.
That may work in stable times – but in a world of permanent crisis it looks like an attempt to hold back the storm with sticking plasters and sub-clauses.
You could say:
Europe shows the traits of a dependent personality structure – overly anxious to protect its citizens, yet incapable of standing up for itself.
It seeks security in rules instead of finding strength in the capacity to act.
And sometimes Europe seems almost masochistic:
instead of strengthening its own resilience and sovereignty, it burdens itself with endless internal blockades, sanctions against itself and a tendency to decide nothing at all for fear of conflict.
Some member states act in their own interest and so weaken the whole – like limbs working against their own body.
Europe would be strong enough to shape the future.
But as long as it remains locked in this psychological self-restraint, it will be unable to act – a continent busy regulating itself while others have long since acted.
