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8/18/03 The Gift of Socialism: Death Recent AP reports from France regarding the death toll from the recent heat wave are noteworthy for the insight they provide into the "benefits" of socialism. The basic theory of socialism is that capitalism allows excessive exploitation of both consumers and workers. Socialism, by vesting control of critical sectors of the economy in the government, supposedly removes the incentives to exploitation. The government, the argument assumes, will act in the collective best interests of workers and consumers, spreading the costs out over the whole economy. The problem is that even governments are beholden to someone: first and foremost, in democratic states, to the electorate. And it is the electorate who pays for everything. So, in the end, the incentives to exploitation are only offset somewhat. The electorate is reluctant to pay high taxes, and expects high levels of service. The workers expect high rates of pay and excellent benefits. The government is beholden to both, and must try to strike the right balance. I suppose those who believe such a scheme can work have more faith in the collective wisdom of warring special interests than I. But it can at least be said with fair certainty that the experiment in France has not yielded promising results. Aside from the periodic paralysis inflicted by the ever more audacious unions, who, like sharks, swarm at the scent of bleeding hearts, taking hostage the whole economy one sector at a time to win for themselves the right to produce less and less and get ever more in return, it is now becoming clear that the pendulum has swung so far that even basic medical care is beyond the normal capacities of this socialist utopia. The recent heat wave in Europe (one hopes it has finally drawn to a close) has caused or contributed to the deaths of an estimated 3000 to 5000 French citizens, most elderly. Among contributing factors, it has been suggested by government officials and other observers, are the fact that hospitals and nursing homes are extremely short-staffed in August. Many Europeans take extended vacations at this time, and the remaining workers are disallowed by law from working more than 35 hours per week to make up the shortfalls. Europeans are used to having twice or three times the average vacation time as that granted to the average U.S. worker, a fact that is often cited as grounds to consider U.S. workers second-class when compared to their European cousins. But now that potentially hundreds have died needlessly in France because their compatriots were on vacation, that idea is worth reconsidering. Nothing in life is free. The cost of more vacation time for workers? Less productive time per worker. Thus, to yield the same productivity, the society needs more workers. So much for stay-at-home parents. And what about retirement? If it comes sooner, there are fewer productive years per worker, as well, further depressing productivity. And as this tragic situation in France demonstrates, depressed productivity translates into less prosperity and sometimes less survival. The French government responded belatedly by recalling some vacationing healthcare workers. Perhaps there will even be calls for longer hours or fewer vacations for critical workers, although I doubt the interests of labor can be subordinated even to the needs of the sick and elderly in a society that makes work an entitlement instead of an obligation. In any event, this case ought to expose the ugly underbelly of socialism. The ideal of socialism, the perfectly managed economy, is so unlikely ever to be realized in reality that it is not worth striving for. Capitalism, properly regulated, will naturally find the right balance between work and leisure to keep the society healthy while maximizing productivity. We can concentrate our efforts on detecting and rectifying injustices within the capitalist system rather than trying to design a healthy economy from the ground up. Updated: 09/10/2004 |
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