ABSTRACT
The way political analysts have it, since William Heinemann of Orange, Britain had one main goal in Europe: to bend the curve of French expansion on the continent, and contain the ambitions of French kings and emperors. The buck stopped at William of Orange, who also saw that shrewd, meticulous long-range planning was essential if a relatively small country compared to what was then the might of France, and was to achieve anything. The former Secretary of State paid no attention to the thesis of a great American, Thomas Paine, who once said that society and government are two bodies which move in contradiction to one another: the one encourages intercourse, the other creates distinction, making coordination tough enough in even one country. With the exception of Russia and possibly the Ukraine, many of these republics were poor, featuring a small gross domestic product. De Gaulle senses that design and, though himself no friend of a continental political union.
