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Friday, November 11, 2005

Goodnight, de Gaulle

Jonah Goldberg has penned an amusing (but I think generally accurate) take on what's happening in France. And it also contains the single best one-sentence description ever of why Western Europe's economy has been in the toilet for a couple of decades:

The French "social model" which pays wealthy, educated people not to work much — and prevents poor and desperate ones from working at all — simply has no solution for what to do with these surplus Frenchmen.

One can argue as to how much of a role that jihad is playing in the ongoing French riots, but I think that Jonah's conclusion that "France" as we now know it is ultimately doomed is right. French jokes aside, it will be sad to watch as their economy slides from stagnation into perpetual decline while at the same time a muscular, unassimiliated Muslim minority grows into a plurality and becomes the most powerful political force in the country. Goodnight, de Gaulle.

Hopefully the French state's disintegration over the next 30 to 50 years will at least be a wake up call for Germany and Italy (and possibly our own California!) to deregulate, lower their oppressive tax systems, and make their labor markets liquid enough to absorb their growing immigrant communities. If not, look for nationalism and nativism to rear their ugly heads on the continent again as demographics and economics bring Western Europe to a boiling point.

Click here to read Jonah's editorial

8 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I've read around the blogs on this site and it seems like Muslims are getting kind of a hard rap. I mean, suggesting that the jihad is behind those riots and posting articles about books that discuss Muslims creating Christian internment camps is really revealing a bit of a bias. Not many Muslims are terrorists, and there are probably plenty of terrorists that aren't Muslims.

4:01 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm sorry, Julie, but there are no Christian terrorists. There may be terrorists who claim to be Christians, but that no more makes them Christians than me saying I'm a teapot makes me one.

Cautious, there are lots of terrorists who aren't Muslims, but the Muslims have the largest terrorist organization...does that give you any clues about what sort of a religion they have? Not to say I hate Muslims, hate the sin and love the sinner, eh?

8:39 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

France is most definitely going down the tubes. Too bad...I like cheese.

8:40 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Actually, Sarie, I think that most Christians would agree that only (the Christian) God gets to decide who's a Christian and who's not.

Were some members of the French Resistance Christians? You'd probably say yes, even though they were an armed group carrying out acts of violence without a state mandate.

Were members of the Spanish Inquisition Christians? At the time people presumably thought so, but do we think so now?

How about the paramilitary organisations involved in the Northern Ireland "troubles"? Both sides call themselves Christian in that conflict.

A bit complicated for us mere mortals to sort out. I'd leave it up to the big guy if I was you.

3:54 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Quick! You guys put this dolt in the White House. It's up to you save this country. Stand out side the White house Screaming "China! China! China!"

I know you guys support commies. Would Fidel have lasted this long If you believed in the healing power of capitalism? Never.

Well now a totalitarian work/camp economy is eating this country alive. You can pay a worker 3 buttons a day if he can't speak up. And sleepy boy doesn't get it! Commies are not really as great as you think.

It's time to wake George UP!

6:42 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"...a muscular, unassimiliated Muslim minority grows into a plurality and becomes the most powerful political force in the country."
Yeah, I guess it's a good thing Mexicans aren't Muslim, or California and Texas would be even more screwed up than France right now.

8:50 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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1:04 AM  
Blogger Scottie said...

The Mexican people flowing into the US share the same Judeu-Christian values as the host country. The muslim imigrants to Europe don't. That is the fundamental difference

9:46 AM  

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