The Euro

It was a dream of European visionaries: From the devastation of war, a modern Europe would be rebuilt with diverse cultures but seamlessly linked economies. Great corporations would arise in a common market, and workers would prosper as never before. Someday, when a fully integrated Europe was in place, they would cap the achievement by giving everyone a crisp, single new currency to replace those faded marks, francs, lire, and pesetas.

It never happened. Europe's economies remained as Dutch, German, French, and Italian as ever, and its nations prospered better than anyone dreamed by rebuilding their national markets. The U.S. wanted a strong Europe to fight communism during the cold war. The Europeans put their military into NATO, but governments clung doggedly to their own national power. An exasperated former Secretary of State, Henry A. Kissinger, famously asked: "When I want to talk to Europe, who do I call?"