Edward Luttwak on Brexit: EU Project Has Failed, Italy Should Leave Euro

In an interview with Artribune, political scientist Edward Luttwak argues that the UK's vote to leave the European Union demonstrates democracy prevailing over stability. He states that the EU project has failed, killing growth, and that non-member Switzerland is more fortunate. Luttwak predicts that if the EU does not address its problems, a domino effect could occur, which he views as salvation: leaving the EU and the euro could allow even Italy to regain past growth. He dismisses the possibility of the EU implementing timely strategies, citing Eurocrats ignoring the vox populi. On Italy's public debt, he suggests leaving the euro and using inflation to liquidate it, as the debt is not repayable. Regarding culture, Luttwak believes Italian cultural heritage can be self-financing by replacing bureaucratic management with modern organizations, using Pompeii as an example to fund Campania's culture without taxpayer money. He distinguishes between contemporary art, about which he cannot comment, and millennia-old art, which he calls a great heritage that can be squandered or not, noting 1000 opportunities for modern cultural capital management to finance cultural life.