‘Benito Cereno’ is a short story written by Herman Melville in 1855. A Spanish ship has lost sails, supplies and direction after Cape Horn, with a decimated crew and restive black slaves under the failing command of ill-fated captain Benito Cereno, who is closely watched by his black servant. When the British captain of another ship brings food and water to the distressed ship in a dead calm sea, he finds an appearance of order and resigned quiet, hiding a much darker truth.
Cape Horn is far from Brussels, but Melville’s tale has disquieting lessons for Europe. Its economy has stagnated for a decade, losing the winds of growth. Supplies – in the form of per capita income – have gone back to the level of twenty years ago for southern European countries; in ‘core’ Europe the poorer 50% of the population has barely had an improvement in real incomes; poverty is increasing everywhere.
Europe too has lost its political direction. After the 2008 US financial crisis, its political and economic commanders orchestrated a public debt crisis and austerity plans that have cost Greece and southern Europe a tragic impoverishment, as well as a loss of legitimation for Europe. As the waves of the crisis subsided, Brussels, Berlin and Frankfurt have stayed the course, that is, have stayed in the dead calm of political and economic stagnation. With no sails, commander or route, a new storm could easily rock Europe’s boat again.
