You see, the problem isn’t, as most critics claim, simply that the “policy makers” from the various “regions,” will fight over economic and monetary policy, and that the economic ignoramuses might win. The problem is that economic ignoramuses are likely to be the only ones at the table. Nevertheless, it’s probably the case that I was wrong that the economic ignoramuses would be the ones who would precipitate the official end of the EU. First, in the age of mass immigration, Schengen shows clearly that the EU itself was a half-baked idea. The real, painful part of Michels’ Iron Law is the inability of oligarchies to reform themselves.