Managing EU’s cultural divisions key to crisis

If we have learnt nothing else from this crisis it is that economics is, and must be treated as a social analysis.

A definition of culture is “that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society”.

We are familiar with this in Ireland. There is a culturally accepted norm that we do not, generally, evict people. There is a cultural norm that we do not generally reward those who act as whistleblowers (we are indeed only now getting round to protecting same). Economic analysts may decry the effects of these, but they are cultural norms. And culture is very slow to change.