"Le laisser-faire, c'est fini." Capitalism is dead, long live capitalism, so declared French president Nicolas Sarkozy. Socialist believers and capitalist naysayers are celebrating the collapse capitalism. If you believe that, then we'll all be farmers soon. The collapse, or really seizure of the credit markets and financial system is real but capitalism continues to survive and thrive. While credit and finance is the lubricant for modern capitalism, it is not capitalism itself. Just like an engine, if you put too much oil in it, it damages the engine. The situation we see now in the economy is directly a result of too much lubricant (credit). As credit is reduced to healthy levels, capitalism will continue to thrive and evolve.
What I find ironic, is that you didn't hear these countries complaining about American capitalism during the boom when they were receiving benefits from it such as increased exports, investment profits, etc. If France didn't have the very successful capitalistic companies such as Carrefour and many small businesses paying taxes, they probably would be a failed state.
I say, "Long live capitalism, excess is dead...for now."
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