Comment of the 'bureaucratic socialism' term of Mr.Pipes

Submitted by Quentin H (Belgium), Aug 9, 2003 at 23:17

This is an interesting article. Dividing the world politics in three reflects a categorizing, generalising global world view. Media throughout the world make place for hundreds of different views, time is long past since it was possible to give ideologies a geopolitical dimension.

I would like to respond to Mr.Pipes' idea of Euro-politics. Bureaucratic socialism... i guess he means the liberal ideology that has retained some few socialistic elements from a few decades ago, like Germany's socialism with Gerhard Schroeder as first representative. In fact, i think ideologies are dead, everything is about capitalism as world economical system, some nations just dont see it the same way, but do they therefore oppose each other...

I live in Europe and do not feel the so called ' governmental power', in fact socialism gives to many people here (e.g. non-qualified workers) a way to express themselves, and syndicates help them give power to their calls. A system with social security (e.g. minimex system, i.e. everyone has the right to get a minimum saldo each month) is (i think) far more ethically correct than one without. But again, is this a fundamental difference. I think not, both the USA and Europe are parts of the same Western system: capitalism. Politically, of course, this system can be run with a few differences.

The other problem i have with this article is the lack of finesse about analyzing the european politics. The French president (j. Chirac) for instance is a liberal, with little feelings for left-wing politics and an established liberal neo-gaullist government. How could such a point of view agree with the "bureaucratic socialism" of Schroeder? Because in fact they really do agree on almost everything, germany and france are two big allies. The point is there are no governments in Western Europe which have even the most little particle of the Bush administration power, what is not particularly a good thing, but what simply is. In Western Europe we have no state-controlled media... except Berlusconi's media in Italy. And what do we see nowadays? Berlusconi plays Bush's greatest lil' friend. CNN is rather bound to government rules... While European news agencies try to project truth to its public, CNN shows subjective news. And it is called one of the most objective press in the USA. I would like to see the other ones, i guess i would be shocked. In Europe's schools they learn us to behave ourselves with critical minds, there is nowadays a substantial lack of objectivity due to a general emotional behaviour, that i frankly cannot condamn, after 9/11. But the lack is not less present.

I finally would like to tell Mr. Pipes, that it is dangerous to represent a small faction of people as the ideal for many people. Islamists do not convince most of their 'brothers', as many muslims do not feel hatred against the west. On the other hand this 'ideology' could have lots of followers, and as such be threatening to the west i rather like the 'criminal' point of view. (notice i do not like to make a difference between the USA and Europe, as many people here would never think this way, but it seems many americans do. Those americans surely forget US roots, and many other things (French aid for independance...). Of course European anti-americans are the same bunch, forgetting the US'aid during the World Wars, and the fact that without America, we all would be speaking german. Why creating concepts of different ideologies Mr.Pipes, while there are none? Why creating a term as 'bureaucratic socialism', while the only socialistic views in Europe are totally subjuged by liberal values? Anti-american acts here are seldom, and when they happen why blame europe in general for this? Know that Mc donalds trashers and such are quickly sent to jail, a jail where prisoners also have a few rights, like the right of never having to die on an electric chair, where many innocents have died in many countries (e.g. France until 1981) like also today in some US states. There is no need in creating differences between the same people...

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