Europe in question and the question of Europe-an(d) capitalism: a review of Stuart Holland's 'Europe in Question'.

The present review assesses critically Stuart Holland's book Europe in Question. Following a summary of the main ideas and arguments, the review zeroes in a key apparent puzzle-namely why despite the sensibility and feasibility of Holland's analysis and proposals, in the main these have not been taken up as yet by European policy makers. We submit that Holland downplays or displaces a key reason for this, namely the pursuit of self-interest and also corruption broadly defined to include concentration of power and conflicts of interest, by key European actors. These have rendered 'austerity' preferable to Holland-type proposals and measures at least for the time being. We suggest that augmenting Holland's 'displacement' view with one that pays more attention to self-interest and corruption, is in line with and enriches his own analysis and understanding of the future of Europe, capitalism and the book's very proposals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]