> It would seem that the only people who always remember that demos
> do make a difference are the French.
Not only are the French better at demos and strikes than the Americans and the Japanese -- which, alas, goes without saying -- they are much feistier than all the other Europeans as well.
In terms of opinion, too, the French are more anti-capitalist than the rest of us:
<blockquote>A new poll of 20 countries from around the world finds a striking global consensus that the free market economic system is best, but that governments should also do more to regulate large companies. In all but one country polled, a majority or plurality agreed with the statement that “the free enterprise system and free market economy is the best system on which to base the future of the world.” On average, 61% agreed while 28% disagreed. The poll of 20,791 individuals was conducted by the international polling firm GlobeScan and analyzed in conjunction with the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) of the University of Maryland.
Ironically, the country that showed the highest level of support for the free enterprise system was China, with 74% agreeing that it is the best system. Others that were nearly as enthusiastic were the Philippines (73%), the US (71%), and India (70%).
France was the one country where most did not agree with this proposition. Only 36% of the French agreed that the free market economy is the best system, while 50% disagreed. Others that only showed plurality support for the proposition were Argentina (42% agree), Russia (43%), and Turkey (47%). In all other cases, agreement was 57% or higher. (Program on International Policy Attitudes, "20 Nation Poll Finds Strong Global Consensus: Support for Free Market System, But Also More Regulation of Large Companies," 20 March 2006, <http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/articles/ btglobalizationtradera/154.php?nid=&id=&pnt=154&lb=btgl>)</blockquote>
Yoshie Furuhashi <http://montages.blogspot.com> <http://monthlyreview.org> <http://mrzine.org>