|
National Stereotypes I came across a little article in the Economist about national stereotypes: SITTING this morning at a pre-election briefing in Washington, next to two women from the French embassy, I could not but reflect on the different ways France, Britain and America are reacting to the respective problems in their public finances. Let's simplify, and exaggerate. The pampered French are being asked to retire a little later. They have responded by taking to the streets, rioting, burning the place down, re-enacting the revolution. In Britain, meanwhile, the new coalition government has taken a chainsaw to public spending. A squillion public organisations are being shut down, a zillion civil servants are being fired, welfare benefits are being slashed, the navy is being told that it can no longer afford to have aircraft for its aircraft carriers and so forth. The British reaction? Oh well, we enjoyed the good times, some belt-tightening is probably in order, and, after all, one mustn't grumble. In America, almost everyone serious agrees that public spending is on an unsustainable trajectory unless entitlements can be cut and/or taxes increased. The political response: neither the Republicans nor the Democrats dare to propose any serious cuts to entitlements and the Republicans equate tax rises, even for the richest, with treason and blasphemy. As a Brit, especially one living abroad and therefore safe for a while from the new government's axe, it is tempting to think that my little island has got it right. Pluck, phlegm, fortitude and a touch of masochism: aren't these what saw us through the Blitz? Interesting, not so long ago such an article would have been called politically incorrect. It brought these thoughts to mind: Ah the romantic French, in search of psychological perfection, from the finest aristocrat, to the noblest savage. Vanity is their sin, idealism their virtue, poverty their future. Ah the confident Americans, in search of success, from the richest industrialist, to the toughest cowboy. Shallowness is their sin, self-belief their virtue, poverty their future. Ah the gritty English, in search of moral principle, from the mighty Knight, to the humble postman. Small-mindedness is their sin, fortitude their strength, poverty their future. English, French, American united in poverty, and individualism. Angry individualism, turning the aristocratic French into socialists, the independent Americans into zealots, the cheerful English into pessimists. But God is just, the strong vanquish the weak, the sun sails East.
|