Prosperity was supposed to legitimize the European Union. After the period of rapid economic growth ended, Europe’s leaders came to rely, instead, on the threat of an evil that is greater than austerity: further destabilization of debtor countries, leading to default, expulsion from the eurozone, and economic, social, and political collapse.
繁荣本应巩固欧盟的合法地位。但在快速经济增长期结束后，欧洲领导人转而仰仗比紧缩更胜一筹的邪恶因素威胁：即债务国进一步失稳导致债务违约、而后被从欧元区驱逐出去，再之后是经济、社会和政治陷入崩溃。