A query about France

Gordon Fitch gcf at panix.com
Mon Nov 11 14:56:34 PST 2002


andie nachgeborenen:
> Why is French union density so low, and why does it
> have a social democratic welfare state despite that,
> which, if we had it, would make us think thatthe
> revolution was over and we'd won? jks

Actually, the social-democratic/Welfarist State appears to be in competition with unions, delivering roughly the same goods. Strong unions might inspire strong State efforts to compete, but even in the absence of unions so might the threat of revolution or anti-capitalist electoral success (as, for instance, the large Communist vote in France in another epoch, and the events of 1968).

Where there is little competition and no threat (the U.S.), the Welfarist practices of the State are correspondingly weak.

-- Gordon



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