Europe has lost its purpose and lives off the glory of bygone days. Self-absorbed, morally arrogant, and directionless, the continent staggers along.

What exactly is Europe? If one sets aside all the theatrical trappings, the bombastic pronouncements about a European community of values, the self-referential appeals to the Greco-Roman heritage, and the invocations of Christian-Western tradition, Europe presents itself in the lived reality of its current inhabitants as rather unglamorous, a lifestyle of untapped potential. Europe embodies less a coherent political idea than a lifestyle, a way of life. How can this be described? Self-absorbed and complacent, indulgent and moralizing, arrogant and out of touch with reality. It is unlikely that this model of life can be successfully continued in the future.

The "European way of life" is a caffè latte made with oat milk and sustainably grown coffee beans, both gentle on the stomach and pleasantly stimulating. Absolutely no bitterness! A harmless, grassroots-democratic beverage, ideally enjoyed in a reusable cup as a personal contribution to saving the planet. Afterwards, it's off again on the leather saddle of a vintage bicycle, either to a university lecture hall, the next meeting, or straight into a long weekend. Let others push themselves to their limits while the next Tinder date beckons. The greatest risk in life for contemporary urban Europeans is emotional rejection—unloved, misunderstood, unexpected—which can then be processed in an endless loop of psychotherapy. It's the padded existence of the European narcissist, who fruitlessly squanders his happiness and all his human potential on himself.

Saving the world and structural racism

Of course, we all want to save the world—preferably immediately and once and for all. This seems to be particularly successful in the westernmost reaches of the Eurasian continent. At least nowhere else is the millenarian ambition for global salvation as pronounced as in Western Europe, and especially in Germany. For here, the moral prosperity of every individual is directly linked to the fate of the entire planet.

Sustainability, mindfulness, and climate neutrality are the new trinity of a largely secularized population. At the same time, no one can say how the imperative goals of the best possible human existence can even be met. The whole thing amounts to self-deception. While one's own standard of living, consumption patterns, and expectations can never be privileged or secure enough, renunciation, modesty, and humility are simultaneously propagated. Europeans now want both: to live comfortably and have a clear conscience. As direct heirs of the colonizers, however, they should know that both cannot be achieved simultaneously. Anyone who shamelessly exploits the Earth's wealth (and raw materials) to lead a comparatively luxurious middle-class life undisturbed cannot seriously believe that this is for the benefit of the exploited countries and their people. The English reporter Tom Burgis has written a sad book about this.

In their own perception, however, Europeans are the better people, having succeeded in overcoming the inherent contradictions of capitalism and drawing the right lessons from a bloody history. In Europe, everyone is free because everyone has the same opportunities and is treated as an equal. Is this really the case? At universities and in government ministries, racism is officially condemned, yet the cleaning crews that subsequently clean the lecture halls or meeting rooms consist exclusively of people with dark skin. The academically educated elites are, of course, white—in academia, in companies, in politics. After all, there are other people for the dirty, physically demanding, and often dangerous work.

The moral double standards, hypocrisy, and mendacity of Europeans are considered a given everywhere in the world, except in Europe. Here, people still assume that the rest of the world looks up to the achievements of the European way of life; in reality, however, Europeans are now widely ridiculed, often pitied, if not secretly despised. Not because they are hypocrites, by the way, but because they have ceased to be successful.

The universalist claim of Europeans that their values, their legal and social order should apply to the entire world can long only be maintained rhetorically. The European states are far from collectively representing a global power. Consequently, they are now perceived and treated with disdain by the rest of the world.

The wrecking ball from America

Europe's rapid loss of prestige is also linked to Donald Trump's boorish behavior. The last triumphant figure of the Western world makes no secret of what he really thinks of Europeans. As a spectator of this political media extravaganza, one need only compare the respect Trump shows the leaders of Russia and China with the image of powerlessness projected by the dwarfed European heads of state in Washington. Commission President von der Leyen—isn't she the most powerful woman in Europe?—is simply summoned to Donald Trump's private golf course and allowed to rubber-stamp punitive tariffs. Europeans will have to get used to this kind of treatment—if only because they accept it. These images remind us what shame truly means, the involuntary witnessing of one's own unworthiness.

This new reality of European humiliation is, of course, being closely observed outside the Western world as well. The United States built and guaranteed the European security order after 1945 – now they are in the process of dismantling it. Europe was truly unprepared for this and now stands there rather bewildered and disoriented. The frenetic pace of crisis summits and consultations does not disguise how divided, disorganized, and unstructured Europe appears to the outside world. How could it have been so naive for so many decades?

Hedonism as a way of life.

Today's Europe is a child of the 1990s. It was in this decade that the current European decision-makers were socialized. These were the carefree years of Western triumph over the Soviet counter-model. It was no coincidence that hedonistic nightlife boomed. Investment bankers danced until dawn at Frankfurt's Dorian Gray, Swabian automotive executives rented the Perkins Park for their daughters' birthday parties, and in the heart of Europe, in Berlin, techno beat the new rhythm of the waning century. Experimental and boring at the same time, Europe experienced its economic and pop-cultural heyday.

Export industries boomed, and Western brands, management models, and works of art were elevated to iconic cultural status worldwide. The European understanding of state, economic, and moral order exerted an enormous influence on the world. All of this was, of course, merely a projection, albeit a highly effective one for a time. Europeans believed (and still believe today) their own narrative of economic dominance and social openness. This certainty has become deeply ingrained in the European mentality. The liberal age has been buried without Europeans even noticing.

This very blindness is part of today's problem. Europe is clinging to the successes of the past and, in doing so, risks losing its future. The prevailing attitude is: What worked yesterday can't simply be thrown onto the scrap heap of history today. But it can – and urgently should.

Beloved Europe, so autumnal and so desolate! The strategy papers from think tanks, ministries, and corporate headquarters have one thing in common: they lack ruthless analysis and persuasiveness in implementation. Their premise is a standpoint of their own strength, but this has long since been lost. Thus, all recommendations and scenarios seem like autumn leaves, colorful yet devoid of vitality.

In retrospect, more could have been achieved than the continent of fear that Europe presents itself as today. However, we ourselves bear the responsibility and the consequences for the blindness, lack of vision, and detachment from reality that have maneuvered us into the current dead end.