Markets and moral regulation: Cultural change in the European Union

Book abstract:

Is cultural diversity diminishing? Are we moving towards a European morality? These are just two of the questions explored in this book by Paulette Kurzer in which she sets out to chronicle how national practices have withstood the ascendance of European or Western models of thinking and action, to specify how adaptational pressures actually produce change, which agents push for change, and thirdly to understand the future of European integration.

Kurzer uses comparative analysis of the Irish abortion ban, Finnish and Swedish drinking restrictions, and Dutch drug decriminalisation to demonstrate that domestic shifts on values and attitudes, spurred on by EC/EU market integration are in fact bringing about a convergence in European morality norms. Alcohol controls are eased, the Irish abortion debate is moving towards an acceptable compromise and Dutch drug toleration is pushed into a more punitive direction. European law and its role as a market regulator is of crucial importance as these cultural and social domains are increasingly exposed to the influence of market competition. The change may be slow but it only moves in one direction - towards mainstream EU thinking.

The book will be of interest to scholars, policy researchers and students of Europe both within Europe and world-wide.