When the Euro € was created and introduced in January 1999, the belief was that those European countries who adopted the Euro to replace their national currency would find currency and economic stability; a case of shared strength, where the strong would bolster the weak.
Little did these countries know then that shared strength in the wrong circumstances turns into shared weakness, where the weak spread their weakness to the strong - a clear case of unstable equilibrium my old physics teacher would have said.
First Ireland, then Portugal, followed by Greece, maybe Spain and today, Germany warned Italy that if it did not follow the austerity measures of its government, it too would succumb. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/13/us-eurozone-idUSBRE85B0FT20120613?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtopNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Top+News%29&utm_
Or, in terms of this blog, a clear case of the Law of Unintended Consequences.
