For the defenders of eurozone orthodoxy, today’s crisis in the Argentinian peso offers a cautionary tale for countries tempted to abandon the single currency. Faced with the threat of the peso collapsing relative to the dollar, Argentinian president Mauricio Macri has had to appeal to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for an emergency loan.

For one columnist in the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, the lesson was clear: whereas a country like Argentina is exposed to debt crisis, eurozone members are sheltered from it. Outside the single currency, a country like Italy would have a hard time refinancing its huge debt. The lively academic and political debate on the euro’s prospects, however, suggests that there is much more to the issue than meets the eye.

It’s worth examining the viability of the euro, from the qualms raised at its origin to its real effect on Europe’s economies. Here, we look at the prospects of reforming the eurozone in a progressive direction and the viability of leaving, and the objections often raised to euro exit.