Why did the ruling elite of the European Union (the EU) plagiarise Ludwig van Beethoven’s 9th Symphony (the Choral) for their EU Superstate’s official anthem? It uses the prelude from the last movement which includes Beethoven’s choral arrangement of Friedrich Schiller’s poem Ode to Joy (original German title An die Freude), hence the anthem’s (unofficial) title. For their trans-national wordless equivalent of the Internationale, the Marseillaise, and Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika, they could have used instead extracts from Beethoven’s Wellington’ s Victory which includes Rule Britannia, God Save the King and Marlbrough s’en va-t-en guerre (aka For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow). However, the EU website states ‘this anthem expresses the European ideals of freedom, peace and solidarity’, but is this the whole truth?
Delving deeper, the poem Ode to Joy has an idealistic appeal arising from the Enlightenment of humanism, the brotherhood of humanity and triumph of the, indomitable, human spirit. Alas, such idealistic sentiments quickly turned sour, giving way to the French Revolution, the Terror and the imperialist reign of Napoleon Bonaparte. Schiller, the poet of freedom, became somewhat disillusioned and in later life described his poem to a friend as “detached from reality” and “of value maybe for us two, but not for the world, nor for the art of poetry”. Indeed missing is any non-coercive imperative to evolve towards the stated idealist end result with compassion and humanity; the fatal flaw in idealism which opens up inhumanity or even barbarity. It is also likely that Schiller, out of fear (of the authorities), changed its original title from Ode to Freedom (Freude for Freiheit).
Beethoven, taking Viennese society by storm as a virtuoso pianist and then as a freelance composer freed of claustrophobic court employment, infused his music with his personality and philosophies of life and politics; mainly freedom, humanism and an unconquerable human spirit. Despite advancing deafness, he pushed outside the established bounds to lift creativity and invention, and provided a precursor for new musical accomplishments in the years following. A role model then for what can be achieved when people exert their individuality freed from a dead hand of convention and authoritarian rule; not exactly an aim of the EU especially with its all controlling corporatist inclinations of rule by the few, for the few (big government, big business and big other organisations).
However, it is possible to see within some of the actions of the EU and its ruling elite (such as leaders Angela Merkel and François Hollande, or EU bureaucrats) a long revered universal ‘brotherhood’ idealism which they are pursing regardless of practicalities and consequences. Within such idealism there is no recognition of differences in cultures or heritage (and need to safeguard any aspect of Western Civilisation) or need for democratic legitimacy, accountability and transparency; existing Judeo Christian traditions are also undermined, if not attacked to destruction. Such idealism is impervious to disasters largely or completely caused by its dogmatic blindness, such as the Euro (poor economic growth and high unemployment), uncontrolled (unassimilated) mass migration, Greece (unsustainable debts). It is also impervious to learning from historical precedent. For example, Continental European philosophy, out of humanism, gave rise to Friedrich Nietzsche’s Man and Superman (Also Sprach Zarathustra: Ein Buch für Alle und Keinen) with the superior being, the Übermensch, being the final measure (or decision maker) of all things; thus there are no absolutes of good or evil, or Christian values of love, compassion, pity and humility, just the values of the strong. This justification for superiority or elitism, usually in debased or mutated form, in turn contributed to the destructive ideologies of the twentieth century.
Sadly we will never know what the great composer Beethoven or poet of freedom Schiller would have thought of the EU’s attempt at self-aggrandisement, via his music, and the anthem’s use to further their aims of creating a single, centralised, homogenised and authoritarian EU Superstate with territorial ambitions. Given their elitist sense of entitlement and increasing control over us individually and our country, Also Sprach Zarathustra by composer Richard Strauss (inspired by Nietzsche’s work of the same name) would be more appropriate. However, Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio, is a dramatic demonstration of higher ideals of freedom (of the ‘little guy’), in the tradition of Schiller, heroism, justice and married fidelity against political tyranny (abuse of power) and ultimately of triumph. In one scene, leaving the confines of their cells, to breath fresh air there is the Prisoners’ Chorus:
Oh what joy, in the open British air
Freely to breathe again!
Up here alone is life!
The EU dungeon is a grave.
Oh Heaven! Salvation! Happiness!
Oh Freedom! Will you be given us?
Photo by Barbara Müller-Walter 
One could discuss the why’s and wherefores of the music they chose for their anthem in a high minded way until the cows come home but one could hardly expect them choose something to describe the way the EU is really going at the moment. Had they done so we might have found ourselves listening to “The Road to nowhere” by the Talking Heads with the yellow stars going around in a circle against a blue background in time to the beat … Hard to see where you’re going when your head’s in the trough but oh the joy!
Let’s put the Great back in Britain. Vote Leave.
“No recognition of differences in culture or heritage”. I would go further and say there is no recognition of the dark side of human nature: that rapacious, greedy and ruthless side that we should never ignore in the interests of self-preservation. It manifested itself in North America when European immigrants robbed the Native Americans of their land and way of life. It manifested itself in South Africa when a few million European settlers asserted their supremacy over tens of millions of Native Africans. It manifested itself when Islamic warriors swept through christian and pagan lands imposing their religion by the sword. These are just a few examples of how human beings, seeing what others have and wanting it for themselves, have stolen it one way or another – either by violent force or by attrition. Europeans, feeling some guilt for past misdeeds and injustices, have gone overboard for humanitarian causes such as accepting millions of refugees into their homelands without regard to their alien culture and religion, let alone humankind’s propensity to take what they want if they can get it.
Our leaders talk of virtue and morality and humanity, forgetting that humans are the most threatening species on the planet.