Socialism. It’s a buzzword in the United States, and during my 3 months this summer working in the office of a Democratic congressman, I was accused of adhering to this particular style of atheist government many times. On everything from cap and trade to hate crimes to health care, the residents of Pennsylvania’s fightin’ 1st District loved to toss that term around in reference to our office, and more pointedly to the intern who had the misfortune of answering the phone. But, it was not until coming to France that I truly appreciated just how far off those claims actually were. Now I understand why Penn will almost not take any economics credit from a French university, and why the French completely blame America for the current recession. Allow me to explain.
Before I get too far into this long-built-up rant, I suppose I should define what I mean by socialism which, for the purpose of this argument, is the presence of the government in nearly all aspects of daily life. Completely the opposite of the United States, the standard protocol here is that the government is generally a positive entity, and thus can be trusted with a variety of aspects of life. Health care is the obvious starter, as France operates under a complete government run single-payer system, and has one of the best systems in the world. But the relationship continues much further than that, and I continually discover new aspects of this dominance. For example, when watching TV the other day (Extreme Home Makeover, again the French are confused), an advertisement came on for some chocolate snacks. At the bottom of the screen throughout the whole ad was a sentence that read “Do not snack excessively between meals, and be sure to exercise regularly.” Now that I am on the lookout for this, I noticed that even on the print billboards of McDonald’s ads, there will be a bottom disclaimer saying “Eat at least 5 fruits and vegetables a day.” There’s a website set up for the sole purpose of showing people how to live and eat healthily, whose address (www.mangerbouger.fr) is conspicuously placed at the bottom of every food related commercial. Such a downer.
The list goes on. The average tax rate here is right around 50%, way higher than any bracket in the States, although to be fair they get what they pay for, as the sidewalks are clean (minus the occasional dog poop which I have had mixed success avoiding), streets are well maintained, and free public toilets are abound. State owned businesses dominate the scene, from the TV stations to the main telecom company (which also has an alarming suicide rate at the moment). The socialist party here is not even considered very far left on the political spectrum, but instead is referred to as simply “moderate.” Of course, when you have parties such as the Anti-Capitalist Party to compete with, I guess there is only so far left you can go. In light of this socialism, Penn’s econ department makes it particularly difficult to obtain credit in France, as technically Penn’s department teaches American Capitalism, and the Frenchies are not down with that. In fact, I found out the other day teaching English to the high school kids that I could not avoid the current recession question, and all but one of them enthusiastically agreed that the United States’ greed was at fault for the current turmoil. Apparently capitalism is at the root of most, if not all, evils.
What’s missing in France is that sense of individualism that drives much of the everyday decisions in America (something that I am only starting to pick up now that I am nearly 4000 miles away). La rêve américaine (the American Dream) is an incredibly alien concept, and it is replaced by a complacency to fit into the system here, with a guarantee to be taken care of by the State. The social welfare state is written into the constitution (and professors are proud of it, numerous having shown that fact off in class), and everyone expects to be supported by the state in any time of need.
This government presence extends to the working sector as well, probably the most striking difference between here and the States. The 35 hour work week is a mandate here, and anyone crossing that threshold is handsomely rewarded with overtime. As a result, the hours on stores are generally very frustrating for a (usually hungry) college kid. The majority of workers go home for lunch every day (usually picking up a baguette on the way), so if a non-restaurant/bakery (like a grocery) stays open during the two hour lunch break, it is a huge deal, and you can expect said business to prominently advertise this. Further, even despite the fact that the French dinner generally does not begin until later (average time is around 8:30), non-restaurants are closed almost across the board by 7pm. 24 hour businesses of any kind do not exist, period. You may not think this to be a problem, but when you are walking back home with a group of friends in the wee hours of the morning and cannot get the dream of a WaWa out of your collective head, only then can you understand this frustration.
While the United States is a nation of consumers, France is a nation of workers, and even though that may be great for a nuclear family, it is not meshing with the college lifestyle. Sure it may not be healthy, and I’m sure the government would have no problem telling me that, but there are just some times you need the flexibility of 24-hour Fresh Grocer for some impulse purchases.
Thus, for supporting unhealthy yet highly desirable lifestyles, the point goes to West Philadelphia.
