One local pro-EU political theorist recently stated that Europe's problem is its large division into many nations. Exactly opposite, I think! In the past this division gave rise to great competition in the struggle for survival and power, which enabled the development of the creative potential of Europeans, specially on the west of continent. The result is Europe's rise in the last half of the millennium. Unfortunately, when Europe began to "unite", its decline began also. Of course, this is a consequence of bloody European "civil" wars, because what is common to Europeans is their great ego. One British mystic with Serbian origin, Dimitrije Mitrinovic said that Europe is the ego of the world, but in itself Europe is one big ego (when I say Europe I also refer to the European diaspora over the Americas etc). China as a centralized state-civilization is now growing, but it is precisely because of this centralism that it began to decline as early as half a millennium as "central" decisions were made instead of regional pluralism as existed in Europe. Centralism is a two-edged sword: it is able to undertake great projects, but also to fundamentally condemn deeper development. Europe is centralizing, but parallel to this process, its general decline is taking place. Centralism is not in the nature of European culture and mentality.
