摘要：AbstractThe long-standing close relationship between the democracies of Europe and North America has been based on shared values. However, the central value we share is not democracy in the abstract. Rather, it is the spirit of individual liberty and the conviction, deeply rooted in our culture, that governments must be bound by the rule of law that preserves the rights of individuals and of minorities, plus a willingness to make sacrifices to defend these values. The will to protect and defend these values have been eroding on both sides of the Atlantic. But the process of erosion is clearly further advanced in Europe, where the institutions of the welfare state matter enormously and large portions of the populace have become dependent on state aid. These developments have brought both Americans and Europeans to a crossroads. On the one hand, Americans must resist the seductive urge to shrug off global responsibilities and retreat into isolation and, on the other, Europeans must beware of pushing their North American allies away. To preserve the transatlantic partnership we must grasp that what increasingly divides us is not policy disputes or political styles but the crumbling commitment of Western culture to the values that made it special and without which no will to defend it can possibly exist.
