More
Matrix Masters
Blogs
World Events
US News
Science & Health
Earth News
Free Speech
News from Africa
News from Palestine
Bill of Rights Under Attack

Matrix Masters'
SUPPORTERS

Lorenzo's
Random Musings
. . . about Chaos,
Reason, and Hope

 

Europe Leaves the U.S. Behind
by Steven Hill
Spain's new left-leaning government attracted the ire of the Bush administration recently when it withdrew its troops from Iraq. Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero fulfilled a campaign pledge when he announced the withdrawal, aligning the Spanish government with the overwhelming sentiment of the Spanish people, as well as with most governments and peoples of Europe. . . . Receiving less attention than the troop withdrawal, in his speech Zapatero announced other priorities that further separated his government from the White House. Zapatero pledged greater spending on education and affordable housing for low- and middle-income families. He also pledged a crackdown on violence against women -- a scourge he called Spain's "greatest national disgrace" -- and recognition of gay marriage. The last one no doubt will be dismaying to religious fundamentalists in both the Bush administration and the Taliban. . . . From inside the White House, Zapatero must look like a flaming leftie and certainly no ally. But actually he is quite within the mainstream of European politics, both on foreign policy and domestic matters. The fact is, even the conservative parties of Europe are to the left of the Democratic Party in the U.S. The European political center is where the American left would love to be. . . . But the differences between Europe and the U.S. are growing, registering like a series of small quakes on the Richter scale. . . . Moreover, in numerous ways average Americans are falling behind our European counterparts in this age of globalization. . . . And yet the American media is not reporting much of this. The typical American depiction of “old Europe” usually is fraught with stereotypical extremes, either colorful vacation adverts about castles on the Rhine or goose-stepping neo-Nazi parties. . . . Why are Europeans outpacing Americans on so many social, political and economic fronts? The answers are complex but basically they boil down to the fact that, for the last 60 years in the post-WWII period, Europeans have been incubating markedly different "fulcrum institutions" -- the key institutions and practices on which everything else pivots. . . . In the political realm, Europe utilizes full representation electoral systems that gives representation to voters across the political spectrum, public financing of elections that fosters debate, universal voter registration, voting on a weekend or on a holiday, and national electoral commissions that establish nationwide standards and practices. . . . In the media realm, Europe boasts a robust public broadcasting sector (radio and TV) and subsidized daily newspapers, leading to more media pluralism, a better-informed citizenry, more people reading newspapers, and a higher level of what political scientist Henry Milner calls "civic literacy." . . . In the economic realm, Europeans have developed practices such as "codetermination," which provides meaningful worker representation on corporate boards of directors, and powerful works councils in the workplaces. . . . Taken together, these fulcrum institutions work coherently to form the basis of a “European Way” that is distinctly different from the “American Way.” This provides a rough blueprint of where institutional development in the United States needs to go in the 21st century. Those who care about the future of our country should take their cues from Europe.

[COMMENT: We highly recommend you click the link above and read the full text of this well-reasoned essay.]

posted by LoZo 10:54 AM