France Riots

I noticed that Kevin is cooking up a great post on the economics involved in the French riots (for a little more discussion on this Gary Becker and Richard Posner both had great articles here and here about how the tradeoffs of France's socialist model are real and unacceptable).

But I want to just throw out there that it would be a terrible result of this rioting if the French government accepted such violence as a proper mechanism for social and economic change. Apparently this is not unusual. Richard Posner explains in his column this week:

French truckers and farmers are notorious for direct action, as in blocking roads, in order to enforce their demands. In 2003, a plan to reduce civil servants' pensions provoked wildcat strikes by tens of thousands of civil servants. Why the French have this propensity I don't know (it probably is not French economic policies, which are similar to those of most European countries), but it suggests a lower riot threshold than in the United States.

Granted that France is in need of serious social and economic reform. But if it continually caves to people seeking change through extra-legal action then it only incentivizes further illegal action.

Here is hoping that France first establishes its laws before it talks about concessions to its justifiably angry minorities.

-Mr. Alec