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Originally Posted by ERCougar
My concern would be along the lines of BYU71. I'm not afraid of the label of "socialism" if we reach the kind of society that I would like to be a part of. I think the thing that frightens conservatives is the holding up of Europe as the "ideal". Europe (France, at least) seemed very caste-like, as BYU71 pointed out. I know there are statistics that show that mobility between classes has steadily declined in the US--I'd be curious to see the comparison with France. Maybe this is just a function of a much older government and society.
Additionally, the average French citizen seemed worse off than the average American--it was rare to have two cars, rare to even have a clothes-drier or a microwave, to point out a few examples. At the same time, there were fewer poor and certainly a better safety net. So where do our collective values lie--a Rawlsian ideal or one of individualism? We as a country have always favored the latter, so the term "socialist" is fairly effective as a scare tactic. Perhaps we're shifting.
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France is an interesting case study. On the one hand it is held up as an example for nuclear energy, on the other hand it is used as a sledge hammer in debating whether to move even an inch left on the scale.
I think the French culture itself is a very big part of their economic troubles. When you have a nation where truck drivers feel empowered to bring economic activity to a standstill, that's a toxic cultural characteristic you wouldn't find here. I can't imagine any scenario where Americans would tolerate that kind of selfishness by one group.
For example, here's a private-only action that would be a national disaster - what if all the home owners who are under water on their mortages decided to "strike" until they got more favorable rates and/or lowered mortage loans. It would be a calamity... but no tax money would be involved!