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Jack the Ripper and moralising capitalism Print E-mail
Written by Jason Jones   
Monday, 02 June 2008

The other day I took a tour of the area where Jack the Ripper killed five women. The tour guide began by saying, “The City of London was the seat of the largest empire the world had ever seen and the richest square mile in the world. The East End was the polar opposite, with those exploited by unchecked capitalism crammed into the worst conditions imaginable.”

Say what? Unchecked capitalism to blame? There were plenty of problems with the government at that time, but why are so many quick to blame capitalism for poverty?

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is driven to “moralise capitalism.” Seems France has been at it for decades by instituting 35 hour work weeks, creating useless projects, high taxes, and building the Concorde. The result? Low GDP growth, a low GDP per capita, and unemployment at almost 8%.

In a new development, the French government is now threatening to pass legislation to curb the pay of company executives and use its EU presidency to clamp down across the EU. Business executives are paid well because of what is at stake. Companies have to compete and the companies that invest the most will get the best. Executives that fail will be fired or demoted.

If Sarkozy really wants to moralise capitalism, he should leave it be. 
 

Comments (2)Add Comment
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written by Mark Wadsworth, June 02, 2008
It wasn't necessarily 'unchecked capitalism', it was the miserable failure to impose Land Value Tax and re-distribute it as a Citizen's Dividend that was to blame. Notwithstanding that Henry George hadn't worked this out yet.
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written by Neil craig, June 02, 2008
The French economy is not significantly poorer than ours - it is about 2% lower tahn ours in 28th place compared to our 26th http://www.geographyiq.com/ran...y_dall.htm

This is not bad on a 35 hour week.

We may have more "free enterprise" - we also have more quangos & bans, less respect for technology (se their bridgesc, trains & nuclear power) & more politically correct bureaucrats telling us what to do. PC hypocrisy seems to be particularly an anglo saxon vice. For every Frenchman coming to Britain to get a job there is at least one Briton going to France to buy or build a house which our regulatory regime prevents them having here.

We would do much better learning from them those things they do right rather than wallowing in our supposed superiority. So would they.

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