It is a common error to assume that the defense of Europe against the threat of Soviet domination is the primary cause for European unification. Nor is it true that such unification would come to a standstill if that threat disappeared. The idea of European unity is much older than the threat of Soviet domination and is deeply rooted in Europe's historical past. Indeed, in a very real sense, Europe has always culturally been a unit, possessing a degree of homogeneity and community of outlook which greatly exceeds that of other large entities such as India or the Roman Empire. In the age of nationalism it was common to assume that culture was primarily national in structure, but the great achievements of European culture have always been a common possession of all European peoples. It simply is not possible to assign the great poets and philosophers, the great writers, painters and musicians to any one nation. But even so, the rise of the national state in the early modern period obscured this European unity by preventing its effective political organization. Ever since the disruption of Medieval unity, European life has been characterized by a fateful split between the cultural community and the political and economic community.