November 8, 2005
GATED NATION
Bonfire of the Vanities (Theodore Dalrymple, Wall Street Journal, November 7, 2005)
A French employee works 30% fewer hours than a British worker, and a much smaller percentage of the French population than the British works at all, yet total French output is very nearly equal in value to British. In other words, the French are much more efficient economically than the British. But their relative efficiency has been bought at a price: the creation of a large caste of people more or less permanently unintegrated into the rest of society.A Martian observing France dispassionately, without ideological preconceptions, would come to the conclusion that the French had accepted with equanimity a kind of social settlement in which all those with jobs would enjoy various legally sanctioned perks and protections, while those without jobs would remain unemployed forever, though they would be tossed enough state charity to keep body and cellphone together. And since there are many more employed people than unemployed people in France, this is a settlement that suits most people, who will vote for it forever. It is therefore politically unassailable, either by the left or the right, which explains the paralysis of the French state in the present impasse.
The only fly in the ointment (apart from the fact that the rest of the economies of the world won't leave the French economy in peace) is that the portion of the population whom the interior minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, so tactlessly, but in the secret opinion of most Frenchmen so accurately, referred to as the "racaille" -- scum -- is not very happy with the settlement as it stands. It wants to be left alone to commit crimes uninterrupted by the police, as is its inalienable right.
Posted by Peter Burnet at November 8, 2005 7:04 AM
Fahrenheit of ironies...
Where is Michael Moore's subtly trained eagle eye? Do all the streets named in Mumia's honor now have to be changed? Will Professor Churchill be flying off to Paris to speak his mind about chickens or whatever. And if one really must look at root causes, where then does the the unbearable humiliation caused by lavishing adulation on fat white male moviemakers rank?
More seriously, though,
Posted by: Barry Meislin at November 8, 2005 8:43 AMOne also needs to read (or reread) Mr. Dalrymple's piece that oj linked to just about 3 years ago (11/16/02). Read the whole thing not just the posted portion - it will be worth your time. It is prescient.
http://www.brothersjudd.com/blog/archives/2002/11/a_glimpse_of_europes_future_1.html
I stumbled onto it last weekend as I was trying to complete the puzzle that the MSM had laid before me on the table (most pieces were upside down on the table and they didn't even give me the picture on the box to look at).
Peter:
Speaking of Mr. Dalrymple, in Cul de Sac, The Daily Duck has really teed one up for you.
Posted by: Jeff Guinn at November 8, 2005 10:06 AMI remember reading this article too. We teased the French teacher at my school about teaching the kids Arabic rather than French as it would do them more good if they were ever able to make it to Europe.
The URL to the complete article is:
http://www.city-journal.org/html/12_4_the_barbarians.html
Posted by: Bartman at November 8, 2005 10:08 AMSo France produces as much as Britain, by having only productive people employed, and paying the unproductive to stay out of the way. That way, the productive people can get the job done in 35 hours a week, instead of 40+.
This means that heartless Anglo-Saxon ultraliberalism forces productive people to work an extra 5+ hours a week, to allow the unproductive the illusion of being productive.
Which seems to make them happier, or at least burn fewer cars.
I have the sick feeling that this actually makes sense?
Posted by: Bob Hawkins at November 8, 2005 12:15 PMtotal French output is very nearly equal in value to British
France has a larger population than the UK. Per-worker the UK GDP is higher, and moreso if you include the unemployed.
Actually (according to the CIA), the population and the GDP of the two countries is nearly equal.
France:
Population - 60.7 million
GDP - 1.74 trillion
Labor Force - 27.7 million
Unemployment Rate - 10.1%
United Kingdom
Population - 60.4 million
GDP - 1.78 trillion
Labor Force - 29.8 million
Unemployment Rate - 4.8%
The people actually working in France are more productive than those in Britain. However, the net output based on total population is nearly equal.
The corresponding numbers for the United States are:
Population - 295.7 million
GDP - 11.75 trillion
Labor Force - 147.4 million
Unemployment Rate - 5.5%
By any measure the USA has a productivity rate about 15 to 20 percent higher than France or Britain.
Posted by: Earl Sutherland at November 8, 2005 2:41 PM