The French socialist paradigm

In France, 48.7% of GDP is devoured by the State. This means that for each euro of wealth created by companies and their workers, nearly 50 cents will feed the State coffers and enrich its plethora of political leaders, magistrates and senior civil servants. This places France in first place among OECD countries in terms of tax collection.

How is it possible for Mr. and Mrs. Average to live decently and save a minimum in these conditions? How can a small entrepreneur be expected to start and run a business? How can they save up for their old age and leave a small nest egg to their children? The French State functions like a real wealth vacuum cleaner. And we should obviously not count on it to create any in return.

This thirst for money on the part of the authorities is largely explained by a very particular representation of how society works in this country. In the minds of many people (and not only those in power) it is the State alone that can and must solve problems and provide solutions. We still live fully in the idea of a welfare state, an all-powerful State that would be able to take care of the worries of all people. Individuals, on the contrary, in this representation, are considered as children, immature, irresponsible and incompetent. Of course, they are not, but by dint of judging them as such, and taking away all their autonomy, they have no other choice but to conform to this distorted image of reality. In the long run, the people remain in the expectation that the government, and in particular its all-powerful president, like a king, will solve all the problems of society. Obviously, this is impossible.

This primacy of the State over the rest of society engenders a biased conception of reality, at least among a good number of the apostles of the Welfare State. For example, O. Faure, first secretary of the French Socialist Party, recently declared (following the measures announced by King Macron): "Tax-free overtime will be paid by the unemployed, the retired and those who do not work". Of course, by trying to put yourself in his head, we understand what he is trying to say (tax losses on overtime will have to be compensated by other means). But that is the problem. The French socialist paradigm is based on the notion that the State takes precedence over work. However, it is work that pays for the functioning of the State. The government is the service provider, the taxpayers (workers and businesses) the customer... and it is the latter who decides. As the saying goes, the customer is always right. To return to O. Faure's assertions, overtime is not paid by the unemployed, the retired and those who do not work. It is paid by their employers, thanks to the work done by those who do it. On the contrary, the unemployed and retired are paid by the State, which is itself paid by companies and their workers. It is still quite surprising to assert exactly the opposite. Either it is intellectual dishonesty, or it is just a distorted conception of reality, due to the French socialist paradigm.