Your argument is indistinguishable from the arguments people used to make in the 1970s about how life was better in the Soviet Union than the US. Sure, their GNP per capita was lower, but they had more leisure time; their lives were not merely devoted to piling up possessions; society had more compassion.
The actual fact, in hindsight, is that life in the Soviet Union was pretty grim for the average person. It was only good for the guys who ran everything. And that is pretty much the case in France, though on a smaller scale.
Once you leave the big tourist areas, France is pretty grubby. The median French citizen does not live some kind of charmed, stylish life in his ample free time. Nor is he so high-minded that he is above buying cheap crap. Everyday life in France for the average person is much like it is for the average person in the US, just a little poorer.
> Everyday life in France for the average person is much like it is for the average person in the US, just a little poorer.
That is not my experience in Italy. To take an example near and dear to that country, the average Italian eats much better than the average American. Indeed, the basic, raw ingredients you find in supermarkets are far better than what you get in the US.
But it's not just that... I find that the relationships between people are genuinely a bit better in Italy than in the US. Perhaps one of the effects of all that "stasis" (jobs for life, people less willing to move around for jobs) is that people really get to know one another. I have several friends in Italy I've known for 13 years, but barely anyone in the US I've known for that long. I've heard some people say this is also true of small towns in the US, but I've never lived in one so I don't know how to compare it to Italy.
In short, in economic terms, you're correct, but the broader picture is more complex, and doesn't favor the US 100%. That's not to say that one is necessarily better... after many years of both, I guess I have a more nuanced view. I wouldn't hesitate to say the US is better for founding startups, but if you're just Joe Schmoe, life can be nice in Europe, too, even if you don't have an SUV and a fancy television set like your American equivalent.
> But it's not just that... I find that the relationships between people are genuinely a bit better in Italy than in the US. ... I have several friends in Italy I've known for 13 years, but barely anyone in the US I've known for that long. I've heard some people say this is also true of small towns in the US, but I've never lived in one so I don't know how to compare it to Italy.
Is your living in the US experience comparable to your living in Italy experience?
Lots of folks in the US don't move for jobs, etc,
Also, it seems somewhat odd to compare Italy to the parts of the US that it isn't much like. The US isn't the coasts/urban areas any more than Italy is Europe. Italy is, perhaps, like Minnesota (except smaller and warmer).
I'm not only talking about France -- that was just the immediate target, as the country that Arrington visited.
Even in Germany they have very different attitudes toward work and social services than we do, yet still support an industrial and entrepreneurial culture (and still make fun of the French for being lazy). Framing this as a choice between US capitalism and French socialism (or Soviet communism) is a false dichotomy.
The Big Mac index shows the Euro as significantly overvalued when purchasing price parity is brought into effect, which means that in addition to earning less in USD, the French can buy less with the same money as well.
That being said, they have much better and much cheaper health care. That saves each person the equivalent of thousands of USD per year. And coupled with other social insurance programs makes the gap not as high as it appears otherwise.
> That being said, they have much better and much cheaper health care. That saves each person the equivalent of thousands of USD per year.
I seriously doubt that the French plan is significantly better and cheaper than the boring Kaiser+dental+eyes plan that costs around $350/month for folks in their 50s.
I'm not sure that I understand what you're saying.
Are you suggesting that France is richer than the rest of the European nations (after cost-adjustment), but that it's still pretty grubby? If so, then all I can say is that I've been outside the tourist areas of a few different European nations, and they never looked that awful to me -- certainly no worse than rural America. The people didn't seem unhappy.
That said, I think this discussion is a distraction from my primary argument, which is that it's possible to guarantee a higher standard of living for people, without sliding down the slippery slope from corporat-ism to communism. There's a middle ground -- if our internet companies are 5% less successful, but we have universal health care, I think that's a reasonable trade-off.
I have had holidays in various parts of France, and what I have seen wouldn't back that up at all. The only "poor" seemed to be in the outer paris suburbs (notable for violence in recent times) - and perhaps Calais, which was a bit of a toilet.
So I don't think its all like the Soviet comparison - in the soviet case it was deliberate mis-information to try and destabilise the west, controlled deliberately by soviet organisations.
How did you get the "just a little poorer" part? Of course the US is the richest country at the moment, but I wonder if that also goes for the average American?
Also maybe in terms of owning things for example maybe it is easier to own a house with garden in the US, making people rich in terms of owning a house and garden. But french people living in an interesting cultural environment in a small flat might feel richer than somebody living in their own house at some crossroad in the middle of nowhere.
Overall I guess the average french factory worker doesn't really take 4 hour lunch breaks all the time, either...
US Per capita GDP is $42,000 per year. France's per capita GDP is $32,000 per year. The US average tax burden is something like 35%, compared to nearly 50% in France. Even considering France's flatter wealth distribution and more generous social services, the average American is richer than the average French person.
These aren't the best measurements if you're interested in studying this sort of thing closely -- I'm using these because they were easy to find. Comparing the relative wealth of nations while controlling for cultural and regional differences is hard, and will probably never be solved now that political actors have an incentive to refute answers they don't like. Still, it's my understanding that there's a strong consensus for Americans having between 25% and 30% more money to spend on average -- the bone of contention being how much GDP numbers actually matter to promoting the welfare of citizens.
The actual fact, in hindsight, is that life in the Soviet Union was pretty grim for the average person. It was only good for the guys who ran everything. And that is pretty much the case in France, though on a smaller scale.
Once you leave the big tourist areas, France is pretty grubby. The median French citizen does not live some kind of charmed, stylish life in his ample free time. Nor is he so high-minded that he is above buying cheap crap. Everyday life in France for the average person is much like it is for the average person in the US, just a little poorer.