November 09, 2005
No time for riots
Joel Kotkin has an excellent editorial detailing why Europe is having widespread race riots, while America doesn't and, when it comes down to it, never really has. The French riots have outlasted the two worst race riots in American history - the 12th St. riot in Detroit, 1967, and the Rodney King riots, 1992 - by a factor of 2, and have exceeded their extent through the respective nation by orders of magnitude.
Money quote:
"State-directed capitalism may seem ideal for American admirers such as Jeremy Rifkin, author of "The European Dream," and others on the left. Yet it is precisely this highly structured and increasingly infracted economic system that has so limited opportunities for immigrants and their children. In a country where short workweeks and early retirement are sacred, there is little emphasis on creating new jobs and even less on grass-roots entrepreneurial activity."
Thanks for that, Ryan. I'm still getting my mind around how the economic/social/governmental structures vary from country to country within Europe. The problem looks different in France as opposed to the UK as opposed to Germany as opposed to the Nederlands... The only common element is that it's becoming more and more difficult to be an idealist anywhere in Europe.
Posted by: bob at November 10, 2005 11:49 AM