Naomi Klein tells us how to build a “Fortress Continent.” 1) Establish a trade bloc with a wealthy core area surrounded by poorer border areas. 2) Demand favorable trade deals with those outside the bloc–on the condition that they’ll quit sending immigrants your way. 3) Militarize the borders of your trading bloc, just to make sure those immigrants stay out. 3) Deprived of immigrants’ cheap labor, draw upon the poorer areas of your tradiing bloc. (Mexico for NAFTA, the former WARSAW nations for the EU.) Ta-da! Now you have your very own mutli-national isolationist protectionism.

What Klein ignores is that Fortress EU –unlike Fortress NAFTA– will soon be democratic (following the current EU constitutional convention). EU membership is much more promising for your average Pole than membership in NAFTA for your average Mexican. Both will share in the joys of working in a sweatshop, but the Pole will have democratic representation in the governance of his Fortress Continent. Plus, the Pole’s sweatshop will be subject to the EU’s progressive regulations while the Mexican’s sweatshop will be, well, a sweatshop. When it comes to environmental and labor ethics, Fortress EU will come out ahead every time.