William Penn, l’inglese che inventò il Parlamento Europeo

Abstract

Compared to earlier thinkers who had pleaded the cause of peace in Europe, such as Erasmus, William Penn took an important step forward: he sought institutional solutions to international disputes. Arguing that only dialogue could foster mutual understanding, he was the very first to put forward the idea of a European parliament. Unlike similar proposals of the time, such as those by Crucé or the Abbot de Saint-Pierre, Penn’s did not confide the solution of such disputes to diplomacy and the existing dynasties of Europe, it did not envision the creation of an international convention whose members would be heads of state ortheir ambassadors, but of a parliament where each member state would be represented according to the size of its economy. Intended to favor the free exchange of ideas, Penn’s parliament anticipated the creation of transnational political parties and possibly included among its members Orthodox Russia and the Ottoman Empire. Thus, Penn’s Europe is not a Christian space but a political one, and his proposal stands as a sort of anti-Leviathan undermining the dogma of sovereignty.