Europe and the Europeans

New Zealand Listener, Volume 41, Issue 1053, 30 October 1959, Page 33

Europe and the Europeans

HE glory of Europe is extinguished forever" Burke wrote in his Reflections on the French Revolution, and some of today’s historians have echoed this lament by predicting a decline as inevitable as that of Egypt, Greece and Rome. Is Europe, in fact, doomed to sigh away an old age dreaming of a vigour that will never return? Or has it together with Britain, whose geographical proximity, historical associations and common cultural heritage make her a European ‘country-still a vital part to play and an individual contribution to make in a new era? Opinions differ sharply. : Europe and the Europeans is the theme of a series of four BBC talks starting next week from 2YC and 4YC (and from other YCs later), under the general title The European Complex. The contributors are, in turn, Vernon Bartlett, Bertrand Russell, Don Salvador de Madariaga and Peter Ustinov. Vernon Bartlett, well-known as a journalist and broadcaster on world affairs, and as a former Independent Member of Parliament in Britain, left Europe at the age of 60 and has since lived contentedly in Singapore. Through this experience, he says, he has become more vividly aware of what it means to him to be a European. In the second talk of the series Bertrand Russell analyses the character of European thought, giving his views on what he considers the most important contribution the European mind has made, Salvador de Madariaga, the Spanish historian and diplomat, once wrote that it was impossible to give a true picture of the human variety of Europe in purely biological terms. A comparison with the variety of its famous wines, he thought, would be far more effective. In his contribution to The European Complex he develops this theme and shows that, despite their variety, there is a "family air,’ as he puts it, about Europeans of even the most diverse origins. Peter Ustinov is an _ internationalist by blood, temperament and theatrical ties, and in his talk questions the view of Europe held by many Asians and Americans, He examines also the nature of the challenge which faces Europe today. The European Complex: 2YC, Thursday, November 5, 9.43 p.m.; 4YC, Saturday, November 7, 8.0 p.m.