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Conclusion - Good Europeans?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 May 2021

Shane Weller
Affiliation:
University of Kent, Canterbury
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Summary

Surveying the history of the idea of Europe from its origins to the present day reveals a profoundly troubling pattern, namely that, all too often, seemingly progressive ideas of Europe have been shaped by Eurocentric, culturally supremacist, and even racist assumptions. Even the championing of rationality, justice, democracy, individual freedom, secularism, and tolerance as what Tzvetan Todorov terms “European values” can contribute to this Eurocentric and Euro-supremacist tendency. The Conclusion reflects upon the challenge posed by such a history, and argues against the longstanding conviction that a cosmopolitan idea of Europe is diametrically opposed to what thinkers such as Denis de Rougemont dismiss as an “anti-European” nationalism. Rather, it is essential to acknowledge that throughout its history the idea of Europe has been for the most part Eurocentric, Euro-supremacist, and Euro-universalist. If the idea of Europe is to warrant any future, it must be shaped by a spirit of self-critique and by an openness to those cultures that have for so long been dismissed as non-European. That, the Conclusion argues, is the key lesson to be learned from the history of the idea of Europe across two and a half millennia.

Type
Chapter
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The Idea of Europe
A Critical History
, pp. 269 - 281
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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  • Good Europeans?
  • Shane Weller, University of Kent, Canterbury
  • Book: The Idea of Europe
  • Online publication: 14 May 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108784252.012
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  • Good Europeans?
  • Shane Weller, University of Kent, Canterbury
  • Book: The Idea of Europe
  • Online publication: 14 May 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108784252.012
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Good Europeans?
  • Shane Weller, University of Kent, Canterbury
  • Book: The Idea of Europe
  • Online publication: 14 May 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108784252.012
Available formats
×