Europe must emancipate itself – to preserve peace

Michael Lüders calls for a democratisation of Europe

by Robert Seidel

(17 July 2021) In his latest publication, Michael Lüders relentlessly exposes how Europe is dependent on the US hegemonial power. For Lüders, the only way out of this dependency is a unified, democratised Europe, not least because otherwise it will be the future battleground of a war between the USA and Russia respectively China.

Michael Lüders illustrates various current examples of how the European states are repeatedly instrumentalised by the USA in the struggle for world domination. In doing so, he draws on many concrete examples, which in their totality expose just how small the degree of Europe’s independence is.

“Controlled democracy”

Of course, he raises the question of how it can be that the broad population goes along this path so willingly. In a precise analysis, he describes how the Western states have developed into “controlled” democracies. In other words, they continue to be led by a small elite. To this end, Lüders draws a line from the First World War to the present day. Walter Lippmann and Edward Bernays represent the targeting of mass manipulation via the media which is interlocked with power. Lüders cites many names and pinpoints the Europe connections.

It can be said that his analysis is the result of an in-depth broad international debate over more than 30 years and in which the role of the mainstream media, the secret services, the “transatlantic” societies as well as the role of the US establishment during the past 120 years are discussed. Thus, we now know about the various factors that led to Europe's dependency on the US elites. Lüders spells them out very clearly.

Current examples

Since Lüders' main focus is the Middle East – he is President of the German-Arab Society, following in the footsteps of Peter Scholl-Latour – he can come up with many current examples from this region that are not easy to grasp for outsiders. In the Western media, for instance , one hardly learns about the problems Iran is struggling with, how it sees itself and why the situation is so complicated today.

Finally, of course, the old question arises: what would a military power like Europe do other than to pursue power politics? Lüders' reference to “global ethics”, as called for by the recently deceased theologian Hans Küng, is beneficial. A comprehensive moral foundation for human and political action is needed if this planet is not to end in a nuclear catastrophe.

Renewing power and rule – democratically

Lüders' analysis ends in 2020, and therefore he has not yet been able to include the debates about the “Great Reset” and the “New Green Deal”. So it may be understandable that he relies on the “Friday for Futures” and expects positive things from that. It is commendable that Lüders extensively describes the machinery of power in a comprehensible way. This analysis can also help to understand recent developments. His book ends with a call to emancipate oneself: “The individual is by no means powerless. However, one needs allies, like-minded people and a level head to see the big picture. [...] The challenge is to renew power and rule democratically and, above all, to be transparent. Not to put the interests of the few above those of the other 90, if not 95 percent. To see through propaganda and ‘public relations’ and to counter them with other truthful ‘value-based’ narratives that reach out to the people. Otherwise, the path of each individual out of self-inflicted immaturity would still be a very long one.” (p. 274).

Against the backdrop of Lüders' latest publication, another “pilgrimage” of Swiss politicians to Brussels seems intellectually hardly comprehensible.

Michael Lüders. Die scheinheilige Supermacht. Warum wir aus dem Schatten der USA heraustreten müssen. C.H. Beck, Munich 2021, p.294

(Translation “Swiss Standpoint”)