Europe’s ‘century of humiliation’ could be just beginning
https://www.politico.eu/article/europes-century-of-humiliation-could-be-just-beginning/
by Imaginary-Candy7216
Europe’s ‘century of humiliation’ could be just beginning
https://www.politico.eu/article/europes-century-of-humiliation-could-be-just-beginning/
by Imaginary-Candy7216
46 comments
Does it get lower than caving to trump?
Ugh. Dont answer that.
It doesn’t have to begin. Europe can afford to be independent of America or at least an equal partner with equal say – but Europe still wants to just be a customer to America and pay cash while america gets to control the high tech, have the research and the profit and influence and the talent from Europe
It doesn’t need to be this way
Seems like Politico took this memo to their heart with their journalism.
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I’d reckon it’s a bit early into the century to be giving it a name like this
This could also be the start of America’s century of humiliation. Who knows.
I guess if Europe could survive the Mongols, the Plague, the World Wars and Bryan Adams, then it will survive Trump as well.
A whole century is a stretch, but for sure next decade will be harsh if we don’t find a way to degroup from both members of the Russo-American axis.
Let me thing about it selling our industries resources to foreign powers who are increasingly more technologically advanced. Check
Incompetent and corrupt officials facilitating the vassalisation of their nations. check
Environmental degradation associated with imperialism check
Kneetowing to incompetent autocrats with bigger armies due to morally cowardice. Check
Yep math checks out
We’ve been America’s bitch ever since the end if WW2. Britain and France tried with Suez but ever since then we do as America says or we face Russia alone.
We will see. History tells us how humiliated nations act when they get back on their feet….
Not sure if I’m buying the premises here.
The USA itself is currently on a descending branch.
To keep a technological edge over the rest of the world, especially China, they need to attract talent and money to invest. And currently they’re working hard on losing both of those things.
Trumps actions could bring a major change to their very successful debt-economy. (Someone needs to hold their debt… but with f*cking over their foreign debt-holders they could very well enter into a downward spiral of more inflation -> more devaluation of the dollar -> losing function as reserve currency.)
Also their education system is already f*cked and will certainly get worse. So probably fewer and fewer domestic talent. Maybe even domestic talent leaving because intelligent people often don’t like fascism. Probably also fewer attraction of foreign talent, because they also don’t like fascism and the money becomes less attractive.
So I don’t see that we’re defenceless against external influence by United States that become more and more powerful. I rather think they become weaker.
Our main problems are internal: lack of unity and collaboration. Because half of us are similarly stupid as the Trumpists, thus working on our own descent, like the Trumpists work on theirs.
Europe clearly needs to adress its woes proactively, the article is right about that. That requires some tough soul-searching.
But as for discussing future hypotheticals we can’t just assume the other actors will keep their shit together.
This COULD indeed be true, if Europe keeps flailing AND its rivals/competitors manage to leverage their position at Europes expense.
Sucking up to trump is the easiest way to get things done in usa atm. It is the meta. Everyone thought the era of complimenting the king instead of actually doing anything was over, but here come the FOMO americans who never had the opportunity to see it in action. You can just buy the dude a jet, and he will actually do whatever you want. USA never acted like that, and given their economy, we would be stupid not to take advantage of that. It feels terrible because you want your leaders to tell him what everyone in europe thinks, but this is probably the mathematically correct play. He will die of burgers soon, and if everyone else gets to use his gullibility, and we will choose pride, the joke is somewhat on us. We got russia trying to invade us, we got populism thriving, there are just bigger problems that this fucking moron, and directing our efforts at showing him he is stupid would be very satysfying, and i’d be 100% for it, what matters is effects and not optics, and i feel like most diplomats in EU know this. We need to take advantage of his stupidity, before he dies, and the oligarchy implements their braindead techno-feudalism. USA is dead, we might as well take the shoes.
Disregard.
Politico is a garbage website.
Von Der Leyen is like a deadly virus, it kills everything it touches.
I guess that if the EU’s member states could pull their collective fingers out and present a united front and approach, this would be far less of an issue. Other than that, the comparison to late Qing china is flashy but is a bit like comparing two types of fruit.
If Europe can be so easily “humiliated” by Trump, then to me, that indicates some pretty flabby leadership in Europe. Maybe not the current batch, but *someone* had the opportunity to make a lot of different decisions than they made.
That said, every day brings a new decision. If Europe does not want to be dependent on the United States, then its leaders must start to make the difficult decisions that will break that dependence, and not just talk, as politicians like to do.
but it started in the sixties?
Europe is choosing weakness,
Weakness seems to be pushed partially by low demographics, political decentralization, and a healthy desire for peace pushed to an unhealthy point.
What makes 2025 special? Arguably decline began in 1945 when America and Russia began dominating a wartorn continent. Morally, decline set in during the Cold War, but clearly by the 1990s when the death of Yugoslavia showed how toothless the EC was. But now is jarring too, as America has apparently gone fascist. Russia is fascist
Decline doesn’t hit the ignorant with immediacy. China itself didn’t realize its humiliation from zenith to collapse until well into the Opium War struggle.
None issue, the European Union’s investment in the US was €2.4 trillion (or roughly $2.6 trillion) as of mid-2025. These investments produce income for the EU and jobs for Americans. This article is just designed to create division amongst the west, The journalist was the one who added ‘century of humiliation’ it was not a quote by anyone.
Europe’s century of humiliation already started in 1945
As always the article is filled with “wake up call” and “europe”.
No one is out to humiliate Europe except European bureaucrats. US pretty much just wanted Europe to live up to its end of the bargain: meet your NATO obligations, stop energy dependence on Russia, stop with bullshit trade barriers. Damn you guys really bought into media propaganda to cover up your own bureaucratic failures.
Europe lacks guts, that’s the real problems.
I don’t get the technology issue. Many european countries have the knowledge and the scientists for it. European scientists were Even given prizes for making the discoveries that let to the technological révolutions. Even the best technology to make chips is from netherland (and the us were very agressive in trying to steal it).
The more I read the media the more I feel I am reading an alternative version of reality… And I really feel there is some lack of Will in the european institutions. As if most of our politicians and journalists were bought by the U.S., russia or china. Europe could easily be strong. But we seem to choose to crawl.
I certainly miss a crucial information.
The picture in which all European countries leaders submit to trump behind his desk is in the oval office is probably the most humiliating thing i’ve ever seen for Europe.
I don’t see how. Europe is strengthening militaries while (combined) providing more help to Ukraine than USA and we got France, who is admirably stubborn in their commitments to independent defense.
Not saying politicians can’t be stupid, but this is nothing like case with China. Which, Europe recently overtook in GDP, while USA is getting damaged by Trump.
When the 2nd US Civil War starts, Europe will be doing business with both sides. We’ll be fine.
I cast doubt.
Has the author been sleeping since before the Suez Crisis? We are currently *living* in Europe’s century of humiliation. The only question is we can *get out* of it.
I still think people attribute way more intelligence to Trump’s actions than actually exists – in this case framing the vaguness of the trade deal as being somehow intentional to leave open the possibility for further manipulation in the future. I’m not convinced he has much of a plan at a beyond fueling his petty narcissism.
What is the logic behind the tariffs anyways? Do the Americans actually gain an economic advantage by doing this? By the logic of textbook economics free trade maximizes gains for all parties while protectionist policies are almost always sub-optimal. If the Americans just want a political cudgel they could probably find something that doesn’t hurt their trade relations (might even be more humiliating for the Europeans that the Americans are maximizing profits from trade with them).
Century of humiliation just beginning? Nah that’s been going for a while. Open borders to mass migration, acting like earths saviors by making green energy plans that will make no difference as long as not every mass polluting country in this world decides to follow similar regulations, efforts to implement chat control happening over and over again, allowing Russia to attack Ukraine without proper consequences, making horrible trade deals with America, etc etc…
Europe has been humiliating itself for a while now, time for new leadership that actually wants to improve the EU instead of the weak leadership we have nowadays.
Europe seems like an easy target for Trump.
And Trump’s victories flatter the American ego.
Europe have been vassal states of the U.S. for quite some decades now. Trump reshuffling the cards changes nothing about that. If anything, it opens a window for Europe to escape its overlord. But it does need to act now and further increase European integration.
Just think that we need these deals only if the majority of people actually use their products. If we stop buying american sold stiff, the deal will look diferent.
Politico eu…
Anglo media really trying hard to push this narrative.
I like the analogy to Chinese history. Especially considering we have our very own Opioid crisis already. But instead of an actual drug, we have escalated social media like TikTok and Facebook that target their audience with the sole intent of rotting their brains.
Already begun
As a complete outsider (Australian) with an interest in Euro politics, I think the more Europe fragments along national boundaries, the more mired in turmoil it will become.
The EU has an opportunity to develop into a massive supranational bloc but it’s remained hamstrung by the requirement to have absolute consensus which allows far righters like Orban to come along and stop all progress on issues.
The uncertainty from that scares off investors and disillusions citizens.
Plus you know, all the racist nazi shit right now doesn’t help.
Everyone on this sub seems to think the EU is a country
Oh it’s a “Trump bad” article? One would expect it would be about the self-inflicted humiliation, oh well.
I must say, /r europe seems kinda against Europe .. everything is framed super negative..that me as an European is deleting this shit on my account..
Seems a bit like a cheap way to get more negative influx in europe.. juist spam negative shit about europe all day every day…
More negative = more trump like… guys wake up..
Europe seems like the sober guy in the room, and probably will humiliate the ones who invade their neighbors or wreck their own country.
The problem is the EU is run by bougie bankers who are absolutely clueless about how to run a powerful union of countries.
Like you take a bunch of Total War and Cities Skylines pro players and they can run the EU better than them.
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