Europe's philosophy of failure - Stefan Theil
French and German students are being indoctrinated to believe that capitalism is immoral, says STEFAN THEIL.Educated in schools that teach a skewed ideology, they are exposed to a dogma that runs counter to core beliefs shared by many other Western countries. They study from textbooks filled with a doctrine of dissent, which they learn to recite. Extracting these children from the jaws of bias could mean the difference between world prosperity and menacing global rifts. And doing so will not be easy. But not because these children are found in the madrasas of Pakistan or the state-controlled schools of Saudi Arabia. They are not. Rather, they live in two of the world's great democracies – France and Germany.In France and Germany, for instance, schools have helped ingrain a serious aversion to capitalism. In one 2005 poll, just 36 percent of French citizens said they supported the free-enterprise system, the only one of 22 countries polled that showed minority support for this cornerstone of global commerce. In Germany, meanwhile, support for socialist ideals is running at all-time highs – 47 percent in 2007 versus 36 percent in 1991.
Note EU-Digest: There is nothing wrong in teaching students the con's and pro's of capitalism and the global market place. It will certainly help to avoid the problems the world financial system is experiencing as a result of deregulation and the lack of transparency that has resulted.
1 comment:
In response to the EU Digest Note: I agree that there is nothing wrong with teaching the positive and negative aspects and effects of capitalism - though it is equally important to explore the positive and negative aspects and effects of other social structures including those with greater welfare support from governments. However, I understood Theil's point to be that France, Germany and the other states he referred to overpower students with a negative and perhaps inaccurate view of capitalism. He seems to be calling for precisely that - the pros and cons, not just a bias toward the cons.
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