06/04/2006 2:25:41 pm
In TCS: Europe′s Patriot Games. TCS Daily today publishes a piece by me about the strange fact that nobody in France demonstrates against the government′s main policy of "economic patriotism". We currently see the most massive wave of protectionism for decades in Europe, an extremely harmful and dangerous policy. Defending it by calling it "European" is totally false, in fact it is quite the opposite:

"Some of the so-called ′economic patriots′ say the current Western European Social Model should be defended because at least it is our Model ? it is European. The free market is perceived as non-European; foreign and therefore bad. And yes, Karl Marx was European. But so were many of history′s greatest proponents of free markets as opposed to a big state and protectionism. Take Scotsman Adam Smith, Swede Anders Chydenius, Austrian Friedrich Hayek or indeed Bastiat again. Or von Mises and Erhard.


Surely many of the fundamental free-market ideas have a European origin. And in Eastern and Central Europe, they are to a large extent reality. But surely, it is a shame that Western Europe has abandoned its great economic heritage. Those who call themselves ′economic patriots′ while pursuing protectionism and a big state should realize that they are betraying European ideals."

Read the article here - >