JOHAN NORBERG: The world economy in crisis. Europe in shock. Riots, mass unemployment,
extreme parties on the march. It was not supposed to be this way. After the war, the European
Union was built to secure cooperation, prosperity, and peace in Europe. And later, a common currency
was introduced, the Euro. It resulted in a long boom, but it ended in a spectacular bust.
Where did Europe go wrong? And is the United States right now repeating the same mistakes?
Hello, I’m Johan Norberg. And this is Malmo…Sweden, my hometown. If we had been standing here
in the Middle Ages, we’d be looking at the busy piers of the waterfront. It would be
lined with ships right here. In the 14th century those ships could carry more than 30,000 barrels
of herring, carried to different European ports in a single year.
At that time, Malmo was part of the Hanseatic League, an economic union of cities not unlike
today’s European Union. By the 16th century, Malmo was known throughout northern Europe
as a city of savvy business energy, and of a commitment to commerce.
No one better represented the entrepreneurial spirit of Malmo than Jorgen Kock. In the 16th
century, he was a very successful banker and trader…and the mayor of Malmo.
This building was Jorgen Kock’s home, and the center of his vast business operations.
He even had his bank there up on the second floor. Now it’s a restaurant and a conference
center. This place…and this city represent the entrepreneurship and the international
trade that once made Europe prosperous. So, it makes it an ideal place to hold a conference
on the crisis that is now shaking the world.
Don Boudreaux, an economist from the United States and I have invited some of the world’s
leading young thinkers. They’re here for a couple days discussing the reasons for the
crisis that is now affecting Europe; the potential for that crisis to affect the United States,
and how it might affect the day-to-day lives of all of us.
INTERVIEWEE: I know that people my age never expect to get Social Security benefits.
INTERVIEWEE: This bankruptcy will ruin our property taxes, which will ruin our schools-
which ruins our future.
INTERVIEWEE: It’s about 20 percent of the people…of the population lost their job
during the last five years.
BOLKESTEIN: It could have been done so much better with a little bit of courage a civile,
of civil courage…if you like.
INTERVIEWEE: When I had my exams to get into the university, I was thinking that, “Wow!
I’m going to become a pharmacist, I’m going to have a good job; I’m going to have
a drugstore; I’m going to have a good life.” And now…I just…I hope I get 30 Euros in
8 hours by becoming…by being a waitress. And I don’t know what I will do
BOYET: …if we had referendum in France, I’m sure people rejected Europe.
BLOND: …just to put it very simply, successful capitalists hate capitalism.
MEDVEDENKO: The word austerity is now giving the creeps to pretty much all of Europe…
IVANOV: But if you actually want to have a brighter future for your children, I suggest
some more saving and some more working.
STUMBERGER: A lot of people are scared about the future…especially young people. But
you know…unfortunately, politicians don’t get the story. They don’t want to realize
the severity of the problem; they don’t want to do anything.
They don’t have the courage.
DE ARAUJO: Europe is today one of the richest continents in the world. And my hope…my
dream is that Africa, and indeed my country, Mozambique, one day will become also wealthy.
And we need to understand the deep causes of today’s crisis, so that Africa and Mozambique
can avoid the same mistakes that Europe is making today.
NORBERG: In a way, it’s not all gloomy. We’ve had 10 bad years of crisis, but at
the same time, we’ve probably created something like a quarter of all the wealth that mankind
has ever created over those 10 years.
BOUDREAUX: Absolutely…and we have to be careful not to destroy that, because the market
is the only source of widespread prosperity.
NORBERG: You know…we’re not talking about numbers when we’re talking about this. It’s
really about people- it’s about their dreams. It all comes down to that young woman I met
in Greece. She wanted to own a drugstore, and now she’s content just being a waitress.
And our way of dealing with this crisis will decide the fate of her and millions like her.