Both the Euro Crisis (brought to the fore again by the recent Greek elections) and the anti-Islamic marches (originating in Germany but now moving around Europe) highlight two key problems facing Europe today: currency woes and immigration.

Let’s take the monetary crisis first. There are two competing narratives about who is to blame. One is that it’s Northern Europe’s (most conspicuously, Germany’s) fault for being too hard-working, productive, and thrifty. They keep their government spending in check and the people work hard enough to afford their social spending. In contrast, the Southern European countries—most conspicuously, Greece—are lazy, unproductive, and profligate. They produce very little but enjoy extravagant social programs courtesy of the German taxpayers. In order to fix their own predicament, the Greeks need to work harder and start living within their means.

The other narrative is that the Eurozone is a currency scheme set up for the benefit of the Germans. Germany is an export machine that needs to keep its currency down in order to maximize exports. By shackling its money to that of its weaker neighbours, it ensures that its own currency is weaker than it would be if it still had the deutsche mark, enabling it to export more. Moreover, because the currency of weaker economies is higher than it would otherwise be, Southern Europeans can buy more German goods than they could if all they had were liras and drachmas. So now the Greeks are told to cut government spending by the Germans because they bought too many Audis.