Europe's Philosophy of Failure--more BS from Newsweek

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/ian_williams/2008/01/the_world_according_to_wall_st.html

The article, written by Newsweek's European economics chief Stefan Theil, is titled Europe's Philosophy of Failure. In fact, Europe is doing quite well by any objective measures, and it seems somewhat counterfactual to cluck on in this unbalanced way just as the US economy, buoyed only by a continuing flood of Chinese money, teeters
on the edge of a crash, as subprime mortgages and derivatives trading erode the financial foundations of Wall Street.

Undaunted by reality, Foreign Policy continues complaining about Germany and France:

Millions of children are being raised on prejudice and disinformation. Educated in schools that teach a skewed ideology, they are exposed to a dogma that runs counter to core beliefs shared by many other western countries. They study from textbooks filled with a doctrine of dissent ... . Extracting these children from the jaws of bias could mean the difference between world prosperity and menacing global rifts.

Shocked, shocked, as only the country that gave the world Enron, the savings and loan scandal and the almost obligatory half-billion-dollar CEO golden parachute can be, the magazine inveighs: "In both France and Germany, for instance, schools have helped ingrain a serious aversion to capitalism. In one 2005 poll, just 36% of French citizens
said they supported the free-enterprise system ... . In Germany, meanwhile, support for socialist ideals is running at all-time highs - 47% in 2007 versus 36% in 1991."

Portentously the article concludes: "A biased view of economics feeds into many of the world's most vexing problems, from the growth of populism to the global rise of anti-American, anti-capitalist attitudes."

This unsubstantiated prejudice masquerading as economic analysis is pervasive in the US business world. I once interviewed the CEO of an American company that had subsidiaries in Holland and Scotland. He complained that in Holland he had to provide six weeks holiday for the staff and six months of paid sick leave. And although it was not so bad in Scotland, it was far worse than in the US, where he only had to offer two weeks vacation and 10 days sick leave.

I asked him which were his most productive and profitable plants. Holland, Scotland and the US last, he replied. And he could not see the connection. This quasi-theological horror of creeping "socialism" permeates American business, whose leaders have a vision of a Europe mired in perpetual recession.

What baffles me even more is the American tendancy to see socialism in any program for the common good, like anything other than unregulated, law-of-the-jungle capitalism is Soviet Communism in disguise.

...despite the better quality of life in Western Europe. Paul Krugman's article this past week of how well Europe is doing confirms the validity of the European example. So they have less stuff over there, but they have less junk, too - Americans have lots of poorer quality goods than Europeans do.

additional comment

:)

eridani

This is horse-shit.. Just plain stupidity, and nothing more.. As a European I know the "Inside" of this continent better than a american who have read some statistic, and decided to say that europe is "a dead course":. IF EUROPE was a dead course, why in the famous hot spring on Island are US telling Europe to take "More responsibility in Iraq and Afghanistan. TWO country who US for the most part have doing everything in the book dead wrong from the start go?:.

The same country who gave us ENRON, and WORLDCOM, two company who blow new records in bad economy 101.. And a lot of other economical scandals, who even today are crippling the whole world... But hey as long as they can bitch the wealth of Europe, as "communist-oriented" then it is okay then?

Why in the famous hot spring on Island should Europe want, or need the same treatment of their people that US have been given to their citizen the last decade or some?.. We live well in EUROPE as I see it.. Yes a lot more are "state owned" and a lot more are regulated. But for the most part we do live pretty well in europe

And for the "anti-american" stuff.. USA are the one made it possible to get into "anti-america stuff". The last 8 year, US have doing more harm to their own interest in Europe and beyond, then everyone imagined 8 year ago... To be honest, If USA want us to respect us, the US have to treat us different, then to say "we the old allied are irrelevant":. The new Europe (the new NATO members) who Mr Rumsfeld was cosing up in 2002-03 are sleeping away, and for the most part, their military presence in Iraq is dead, or on their way out... So much for "our new allied":sarcasm: But hey, as long as US can say "europe is anti-american" then everything is OK then?

No, European for the most part don't hate US.. But if US want Europe to HATE, then they may work little harder, and they may manage to do it too.. And if US are believing that Europe is a continent who are just coming out of the WW2 ravages they are totally wrong.. Everything US can made, we can made to.. And probably both better and sheaper..

So can US drown itself in debt and sheep shinese product... As Europe manage to prosper, with US or without US..

Diclotican

Sorry my bad English, not my native language

--well, sorry about the language problem. If it's any consolation, most English speakers here would probably have much more trouble with your language.

eridani

Then it is just me who get it wrong;.. And the "sorry my bad English" are more like a warning, because the first times I was here, I was meet by the "grammar police" big time.. Well Norwegian is a difficult language but many from other places manage to lear it somehow.. Even americans do that;)

Diclotican

Sorry my bad English, not my native language

Native speakers can usually "hear" the sarcasm. For me, in languages other than English, irony goes right over my head as well.

eridani

Absolutely right;).

Irony is a subtle weapon, who if used right can point right where it deserve, and if not used right, just lost the mark...

It maybe the case here?.. Just don't "get it": Even that I do understand some of it now, when you say it..

But then I do like British humor, they can be dry, but what a hell for a humor they have;)..

Diclotican

Sorry my bad English, not my native language

Don't apologise. "State-owned" means owned by us; and "regulated" is what Adam Smith insisted was necessary. He saw businessmen as, virtually, no more than useful hooligans. In the UK and US, the corporate kleptocracy are even allowed to steal wildly excessive amounts from the share-holders' profits, unhindered and with complete impunity.

"Do not muzzle the ox as its tread the corn"; but dont let it run wild and do what it wants, either...

KCabotDullesMarxIII

Correct, and this something many of the "libertarian" type of people just don't remember or want to be known, that even Adam Smith was a man who was not happy about "free" enterprise, as it was in the 1900 century, And I guess he would have like it in the 21 century either..

And the analogy with Hooligans is maybe very correct.. IF you let a gang og hooligans given free rain in a football stadium, you get chaos.. And the same with Businessmen... If you don't lay down some groandrules, you get into some really problems, when they are starting going into "war" with the next.. Or blackmail others, because they "Own" the system the rest of the public need to live, and transport goods..

It's funny indeed, that in the late middle ages, when we do have some robber barons, nobles with a standing private army, and a lot of will to use it, against other, the State tried as best they can to stop, and let the barons know, that the time of blatant robbery was over.. It was Century's to come, before the country's, and states in Europe was up on things, and the nobles was a part of the system, not the oter way araound..

Today, many of the same system are in play. The "nobles" The big industry, and commercial interest want to get more and more autonomous from the state. And the state are giving away power, all the time.. And what the STATE have build up, maybe over century es, are "up for grasp" for some enterprising thief's, who want it de-regulated, so they can get their money out, and then let the whole thing rot... Its just dam sick if you ask me.. I do hope the best of the "Old system" survive, to give all a decent life. I don't want a place who many are in deep need, and where you insurance paper are telling you if you get your Cancer treatment or not...

That many of the other side of the pound don't se to understand is that in the most european Country we do pay a lot of taxes, and the money we pay is channeling in to hospital, and allot of other things, that they in US have to pay for. And even then we do pay some more, because not everything is backed by the government and over the tax rolls.. When american claim that they are in need, because of high petrol sums, they don't understand that in many european country we have a lot of taxes, form the time the petrol are ON the pump, to it is fulled up in our tank.. And at top of that, we pay taxes to...


Diclotican

Sorry my bad English, not my native language

as well as you do, is not to be sniffed at.

KCabotDullesMarxIII

Thank you. As I have say before. I do it because I was meet by the "grammar police" when I first arrived here, and just want to say, I am not a native English speaking, or writing people.. And I guess my grammar says it all

Diclotican

Sorry my bad English, not native language

Who in their right mind could have a single thing to say about Europe's
soi disant "failure"? Some failure, that EU, even their anthem is snappy! Europe is not in hock to the Arabs and the Chinese. . . and with the euro/dollar rate being what it is, it ought to be a great holiday season for Europeans to come to the US and shop! It will make us look like we were begging for coins outside a church in medieval times pretty soon if the housing crisis gets worse.

I wonder what would happen if Europe collectively said, "Dollars, too much trouble, and all that detention in Guantanamo . . . I'll just go to Varna this year instead of South Florida"?

nealmhughes

True, The US dollar compared to most currency's in Europa have been falling down, in a paste I have never seen..
And we do have some experience when it come to Arabs and the Chinese...

It Will be hell, if EVERYONE in Europe was to given up using US dollar and go over to using Euro all together.. And it is many places to travel to other than South of Florida... Have been in Varna both before the wall was tear down and one time after the wall was down.. And have to admit it was more interesting the times before the wall was tear down.. More eastern in many prospect.. After the wall it was more like other eastern-european City's with both good and bad things... And the Black Sea beaches are wonderfully to visit, and to be on.. The beaches of Florida is maybe more known, but outside Varna and Burgas in the south, it is many pristine beaches who are there for the taking.. Many of them are less known for us tourist, but if you know your way around you can experience many nice places out of the worst tourist tracks... And after the end of the cold war and so on, the food are also pretty good with many dishes who you can eat.. And the salad's you can get in Bulgaria is just amazing.. But I don't like the Feta cheese they are using in many of the salat's... But they do have a tasty Kefir in Bulgaria.. As they have in many balkan country's

Sorry my bad engelish, not my native language

rAVES

My guess is that Jesus was a communist too. He was not happy about the state of affairs then. And I doubt he was to be happy of the state of affairs now, if he was to come down.. .. He don't want to own the world....

But that is something you don't want to talk to your local minister about, he may get into a blow...

Diclotican

Sorry my bad English, not my native language

a lot of us "far left" and taunt us by saying that our views were acceptable only in places like Boulder, Portland, Madison, Amherst---all extremely pleasant places to live.

Maybe the dolts who wrote this article can be bothered to take a trip to the state of Mississippi, and see where the wonders of free market enterprise has kept hundreds of thousands of Mississippians living little better than animals.