A Common Identity For Europe? You Better Believe It

Europe doesn't seem to be in such great shape just now. The euro, which boosters predicted would soon trounce the dollar only one year ago, is plumbing new depths. Voters in Denmark rejected European monetary union last September, and a Gallup Poll now shows a record number of Germans--55%--want to hang on to their own currency. Across the English Channel, the British seem to be more firmly europhobic than in a generation. On the surface, at least, Europe looks disunited indeed.

But looks can deceive. In many vital ways, the trend is towards convergence, not divergence. Companies are relentlessly merging and industries are consolidating across Europe. The mobile managers uprooting themselves and their families to find better and more interesting opportunities in other European countries are taking one hesitant, first step toward a continental identity. And a single youth culture is forming across Europe, even if it often mimics a kind of American model. Europe's teenagers listen to the same French flow music by MC Solaar on their MP3 players, talk to each other on their Nokia GSM phones, and surf and chat on the Net. Many Europeans are now more alike each other than they are distinct.