Europe's Monetary (Dis)union

The project of European integration has always been a dream spurred by a nightmare. To escape the continent's volatile, bloody past, the argument ran, European countries needed to bind themselves together and forge a harmonious common future.

In fits and starts, to varying degrees on varying issues, this project has managed to achieve extraordinary success over the past seven decades, enabling Europe to reach levels of peace and prosperity at which previous generations could only have marve...