But this does not mean that breaking up the euro would be desirable, or even tolerable. Joining the euro was certainly ruinous for Greece, but there is always “a great deal of ruin in a nation,” as Adam Smith remarked 250 years ago, when losing the American colonies seemed to threaten Britain with financial devastation.
反对创造欧洲单一货币然后允许希腊作弊获得欧元区成员资格的批评可以在20世纪90年代很有道理——理论上，它们至今仍然如此。但这并不意味着应该让欧元区解体，甚至不意味着可以容忍欧元区解体。加入欧元区显然给希腊造成了破坏，但亚当·斯密在250年前失去美国殖民地眼看着要给英国带来金融灾难时就指出，“一个国家永远有各种破坏”。