In an article in May, the Economist praised France for resisting the worst effects of the global economic crisis. France and Germany appear to have fared well in comparison with Britain and the US. The magazine attributed these differences to the role the state plays in each economy. France is the most statist country, Germany less so and Britain and the US are least state-protected. The Economist usually chides Europeans for not embracing the free market. Hence it rushed to claim that France’s success cannot last and that it and Germany will have to move in the Anglo-Saxon direction in the long run.
Yet there is another difference among these nations—the extent to which they have been afflicted by the western disease of consumerism. The French and the Germans have been less willing to work longer and harder—and to sacrifice the rest of life’s pleasures—in order to buy more goods.
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[...] a very different perspective, this also seems to be the view of communitarian philosopher Amitai Etzioni. In an article published in the latest edition of Prospect magazine, Etzioni proposes that we see [...]