Why is Europe's great monetary endeavor, the Euro, in trouble? A string of economic difficulties in Greece, Ireland, Spain, Italy, and other Eurozone nations has left observers wondering whether the currency union can survive. In this book, Markus Brunnermeier, Harold James, and Jean-Pierre Landau argue that the core problem with the Euro lies in the philosophical differences between the founding countries of the Eurozone, particularly Germany and France. But the authors also show how these seemingly incompatible differences can be reconciled to ensure Europe's survival.

As the authors demonstrate, Germany, a federal state with strong regional governments, saw the Maastricht Treaty, the framework for the Euro, as a set of rules. France, on the other hand, with a more centralized system of government, saw the framework as flexible, to be overseen by governments. The authors discuss how the troubles faced by the Euro have led its member states to focus on national, as opposed to collective, responses, a reaction explained by the resurgence of the battle of economic ideas: rules vs. discretion, liability vs. solidarity, solvency vs. liquidity, austerity vs. stimulus.

Weaving together economic analysis and historical reflection, The Euro and the Battle of Ideas provides a forensic investigation and a road map for Europe's future.

馬庫斯·布倫納邁耶（Markus Brunnermeier）是普林斯頓大學經濟學專業講座教授，同時任教於普林斯頓本德海姆金融研究中心，他撰寫瞭大量關於金融危機和貨幣政策的著作和文章。

哈羅德·詹姆斯 （Harold James）是普林斯頓大學曆史和國際事務專業教授及歐洲研究專業講座教授，曾齣版《歐洲貨幣聯盟及歐洲的復興》（Making the European Monetary Union and Europe Reborn）。

讓-皮埃爾·蘭多（Jean-Pierre Landau）是巴黎政治大學的經濟學副教授，曾任前法蘭西銀行副行長，法國駐國際貨幣基金組織及世界銀行首席執行官。