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Slavery and Communism in France?

Ross Kaminsky - 5/12/2005

Between the "social benefits councils" and the government's plan to have employees work a day for no pay to fund air conditioners for old people, the French can't seem to decide whether they prefer Communism or Slavery.

But then, what's the real difference?

In creating the French national electric company (EDF), the workers negotiated a fantastic deal for themselves. As if lifetime employment and a 90% discount on their electric bills weren't enough, EDF contributes 1% of their revenue into a "social benefits council" which uses its half-billion dollar budget, vacations and other perks to control the 110,000 employees of EDF and apparently to support the Communist Party.

It would be laughable if it weren't such a sinister sign that workers at the company cafeteria pay prices for their meals in proportion to their incomes.

Now the French government wants to sell part of the company in the stock market and the communists are rightly worried that the gravy train might come to an end. No serious investor would put up with this insane waste and abuse of the company and its customers.

The French government seems unable to articulate why floating stock in EDF is so compellingly in the interest of the French people. It's hard to imagine how much higher the average person's electric bill is compared to what it could be in the absense of this ridiculous structure and its attendant corrpution.

Part of the explanation is that the 8% of the French work force who are union members are used to the people and the government backing down following their strikes. This is very unlike the US experience in which over 12% of workers are union members but they don't have the same strength as European unions. (Remember Reagan vs. the Air Traffic Controllers?) Also, the Europeans have dominant industrial unions in Europe where the US also has a high percentage of service unions. Service unions can easily have different motivations from industrial unions whereas the latter, even if in different industries, are likely to support each other.

The French people are treated to buses that aren't running and trash that isn't picked up every time the unions have a gripe, so they're probably loathe to attack the unions...it becomes highly inconvenient and it's hard to see the forest for the trees when you can't get to work.

But it all comes down to the same thing in France: Workers work explicitly or unknowingly for the government or other people. When you pay your electric bill there, you're also paying the electric bill for the employee of a government-owned company, not to mention his vacation and a few nice dinners. Following approval of a French court, French workers will soon have the pleasure of a work day without pay.

I don't think it's hyperbole when I say that these are nothing short of forms of slavery. It is the logical conclusion of a state whose rules are made by unions and by bureaucrats who are only interested in maximizing political power without regard to economics, freedom, or even the best interests of the country.

The French national motto is "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity". But liberty is a mirage, equality is a myth built on that mirage, and fraternity is decimated by the politics of interest groups.

I can just imagine John Galt saying "I told you so."