John Mauldin | December 5, 2011
Europe is rapidly approaching the denouement, the Endgame, of its currency experiment. The outcome is not clear, at least to your humble analyst, as the debates rage and there are huge pluses and minuses the 17 nations must decide upon. But the proverbial road down which the can is tumbling and clattering, kicked along haphazardly, is coming to its end, and soon a rather sharp turn, either to the left or to the right, will be required. Let us hope they choose wisely.
Today's Outside the Box is a rather philosophical debate between my friends at GaveKal, which they have graciously shared with us. It is important to note that Charles Gave, Louis-Vincent Gave and Francois-Xavier Chauchat are French. Louis served in the French army, studied at Duke, and has lived in Hong Kong for over a decade. Charles (his father) is the quintessential French patriot and patrician right from central casting, whose voice has the authority of God. Anatole Kaletsky is supremely British and one of the most influential economic thinkers in Europe. He is Editor-at-Large and Principal Economic Commentator ofThe Times, for which he writes a thrice-fortnightly column on economics, politics, and financial markets. These are Europeans vigorously debating the European future as only good friends can.
What we have is an email exchange among them on the future of the euro and the inherent philosophical tensions that are faced by European leaders. I have read it three times and will read it several times more. (Do not feel bad if you need Google to keep up with some of the references. When Anatole refers to Sedan, for instance, he is not talking about cars but a major battle the French lost to the Germans in 1870. Interesting Wikipedia page for you history buffs.)
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