Stepping into the voting booth this upcoming round of EU elections occurring 6-9 June, one is not faced with an easy choice.<br><br>Even parties that proclaim themselves to be Christian Democrats advocate elevating abortion to EU law and <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/eus-abortion-vote-is-a-radical-attack-on-life-says-popes-top-deputy/?swcfpc=1"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">enshrining it in the equivalent of an EU constitution</mark></a>. This flies against not only the principle of subsidiarity, which such parties claim to uphold, but also against natural law and the inviolable nature of every human life.<br><br>Vices can be of two kinds: of excess or deficiency. This idea is commonly traced back to Aristotle, whose claim that virtue is the mean between two extremes lends itself to the conclusion that extremes must fall short of virtue. Aristotle’s mentor Plato proposed the idea of an invisible measure that stakes out the path to be trod between two extremes that threaten to throw one off balance. Physical exercise is an example that Plato uses to show that a right course of action exists, for, as any athlete knows, too little of it can weaken the body while too much fatigues the body.
In the political life there are also extremes: the "Far-right” and “Far-left”. In their extremity, they can often bear a striking resemblance to one another. Indeed, the ideological spectrum is circular not linear. But even within political wings there are differences, with some veering to one extreme or the other.
Within conservative circles two distinct extremes have developed. One celebrates nationalism and the other promotes what some call “neo-liberalism", which might be more accurately described as pro-globalisation, pro-capitalism and openness to socially liberal stances.
Nationalism has come to be associated with the political Right and conservatism through such initiatives as the <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/cardinal-muller-takes-the-stage-despite-police-trying-to-close-national-conservatism-conference-as-political-crackdown-escalates-in-brussels/?swcfpc=1"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">National Conservative movement</mark></a>. The problem with this ideological shift is not that nations themselves or love of nation are problematic. As I have <a href="https://europeanconservative.com/articles/essay/scruton-and-heidegger-on-dwelling/"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">written elsewhere</mark></a>, the concept of dwelling should play a central role in conservative political philosophy.
The problem is rather that nationalism is a modern, radical ideology that runs contrary to the traditional conservative outlook. <em>Encyclopaedia Britannica</em> notes that nationalism is a modern movement, arising out of the 19th century and in the wake of the French Revolution. The <em>Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy</em> defines nationalism as typically featuring “the supremacy of the nation’s claims to individual allegiance and full sovereignty as the persistent aim of its political program".
This is contrary to a Christian worldview where faith takes centre stage, and in which the nation is included as a part and not the whole. Writing in the <em>Handbook of Moral Theolo</em>gy, a work in the Thomist tradition, Dominic Prümmer defines the problem in the following way: “Excess is shown in this virtue by those who cultivate excessive nationalism in word and deed with consequent injury to other nations.”
Such damage may not be necessarily, nor primarily, defined as one of armed combat, but rather of the likes of protectionist policies that can harm both one’s own and other nations. Though the late British Philosopher Roger Scruton wrote of nationalism’s role in causing the Second World War and concluded: <br><br>“Nationalism, as an ideology, is dangerous in just the way that ideologies are dangerous," Scruton said. "It occupies the space vacated by religion, and in doing so excites the believer to both worship the national idea and to seek in it for what it cannot provide – the ultimate purpose of life, the way to redemption and the consolation for all our woes.”
Scruton rightly identifies political loyalty to the nation – as defined by territory – as the best means of establishing common political loyalty and, ultimately, avoiding conflicts; this relates to patriotism, which is a virtue and not a sweeping ideology, and one to which every Christian is called.
Neo-liberalism stands on the opposite extreme to the Right. The concept is too broad and vague to have any real significance, but it often serves as a substitute for anything global or laissez-faire. For the purposes of this discussion, let us use it as an umbrella term for the vice of defect, where too little love is shown for one’s home.
When this occurs, an outlook takes shape where the nation ought to play little to no role, and any federal impetus is greeted warmly: more Euro, more countries in the EU, a federal army and police, a top-down approach to policymaking, and so on. This takes away the sovereignty of the nation where most people’s everyday loyalties lie.
While Christianity is a call to a universal love of humanity, our life remains rooted in a time and place, just as our primary loyalties rest within the family home; so, by extension, they also rest in the shared territorial home we call our nation.
Both extremes of nationalism and neo-liberalism fall short of the Christian vision for humanity. But there is a virtuous mean. Following the two World Wars, a Christian movement was formed under the name of Christian Democracy. Its leading figures were the Italian Alcide De Gaspari, the German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and French statesman Robert Schuman, all founding fathers of the EU.
United by shock at the horrors of the preceding decades, the statesmen advocated a European collaboration centred on Christian principles. They prioritised the inviolable dignity of persons, which is based on natural law. They sought true social justice in the Catholic sense of the word, promoting care for the vulnerable. Moreover, they advocated solidarity with others and subsidiarity, which places decisions at the local and national levels when appropriate.
With these ideals they offset both nationalism and liberal globalism, arguing for collaboration between patriotic nations, rather than merely accounting for national interests or remote global institutions. Christian Democracy is the movement that navigates extremes and stands for a true, Christian outlook.
Nothing has been said here yet of the Left-wing movements that seek further secularisation, more federal control and interference in economics, but they can also be said to fall into the neo-liberal camp for the sake of this discussion. Many arguments can be made for their incompatibility with Christian teaching; suffice to say that the socialist vision is far removed from the Christian view, typically replacing Christianity and natural law with philosophical materialism and moral relativism.
As we head towards the European elections, it is worth considering which vision we seek to promote and which ideals we strive to embody as nations within a European Union. In the voting booth, how can a Christian vote for a <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/abortion-vote-on-15-may-is-a-time-to-raise-our-voices-and-not-lose-heart/?swcfpc=1"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">party or representative advocating for abortion</mark></a>, for example.
What we need is a true Christian Democratic movement inspired by those founding fathers of the EU. This must be one that is Christian at root, celebrating cooperation while retaining sovereign nations with patriotic peoples. It must facilitate free trade that betters the lives of all citizens, and entrepreneurial initiatives that grow the common economy.
It must also hold its borders against threats to this vision, whether they be competing ideologies from without or political extremes from within. Then we may get closer to a politics more aligned to what Scruton highlighted as the ultimate purpose of life: <br><br>“[T]he way to redemption and the consolation for all our woes.”<br><br><em>Photo: A huge banner encouraging EU citizens to use their votes on the side of the European Parliament building in Strasbourg, France, 21 May 2024. The 28 member nations of the European Union will hold European parliamentary elections from June 6-9. (Photo by Johannes Simon/Getty Images.)</em>
