The consistent aspect of American socialists I've noted is that they are sublimely ignorant of the realities of socialism. That might be because of the Paris Hilton syndrome--a life so removed from the ordinary that its possible to make a mildly amusing reality television series about encounters with the peasants. It might be because they profit or hope to profit from the political economy socialism represents, or they could simply be people who've never been anywhere or seen anything.
Having lived in a number of socialist countries, the prevailing mood appears to be despair, envy and desperation. The things you think would be solved with socialism--aren't. You can see a doctor, but you can't necessarily get treated, and even if you do get treated, there is no guarantee that the treatment will be effective. A market economy is about value--results. A political economy is about optics--political cover.
All the things socialist complain about in this country--rich people, homeless, etc... None of that changes with socialism, and sometimes it gets worse.
In this hell-hole we call the U.S.A., its notable that obesity is associated with poverty. Calories are no problem even for the very poor. Even the homeless get enough to eat.
No so much in France.
PARIS - It's closing time at a market in Belleville, a working-class neighborhood in Paris, and a young woman in a black parka and white cap is rummaging through the abandoned crates.After a thorough inspection, she slips a cauliflower and some slightly squashed oranges into her shopping bag.
"That's going to be my dinner," says the woman, who will only give her name as Yng.
Nearby, an old man with a black beret selects two mangoes from the bottom of a battered cardboard box. He earlier bought a bag of apples, then filled his basket with discarded fruit and vegetables.
"Glanage," or gleaning, is a French tradition that reaches back to the Middle Ages, when people would go over the fields after the harvest and gather any crops that remained.
But today, the practice is becoming more widespread in cities, in what charity workers and social activists describe as a sign of growing economic despair.
Hungry in France? Absolutely, and without the carpet of Christian missions we have here in the U.S. running soup kitchens. In fact, I all my travels in France, I never saw anything comparable to the homeless shelter we have a block from the Gateway Plaza--a major shopping and condo complex in downtown Salt Lake City. The homeless in France live more traditionally--under bridges, on park benches, etc...
If this happens in the U.S., they won't be blaming Bush for it--they'll be blaming Obama. He should contemplate that (and Mitt Romney's recovery plan...)
