Popular British columnist Simon Cooper (Simon Kuper), the author mainly articles on a sports theme, this next Saturday the Financial Times app, I decided to share reflections on the theme, which is haunted by a London establishment.
Simon Kuper writes that today, widespread cliché that issues such as formed by a polarization in society, social inequality and “fake” news, etc., etc., swept the West. And in actual fact, says Simon Cooper, these problems are inherent, first of all, USA. According to the diagnosis according to Cooper, at that time, as Western Europe simply “strongly cold”, the US is suffering from “influenza”, and the President of the United States Donald trump is a symptom, not a cause, and now the United States have more similarities with Brazil or Argentina, not Germany or even Spain. In his opinion, is the only Western European country that is in the same state of dysfunction as the United States — is the United Kingdom. But even she, say, is unlikely to produce his trump.
Simon Cooper argues that today the US is much more unstable than Western Europe, because the existing level of social inequality in the United States, much higher than in other developed Western countries, the journalist reinforces the opinion data of the OECD (OECD — Organisation for Economic cooperation and Development), according to which, the US has the highest of all Western countries, the Gini coefficient (Gini coefficient — a statistical measure showing the degree of stratification in the society of a particular country), which today is 0,394. The author observes that perhaps the only Western European country that is fast approaching in terms of level of socio-economic inequality of the United States — is the United Kingdom, and it is quite clearly demonstrated by the recent tragedy of the fire in social good “Grenfell Tower” in the wealthy London borough of Kensington (Kensington). And this is important for any country an indicator of how social mobility in the UK today are even lower than in the US, which is quite unusual for Europe.
Simon Cooper backed up his arguments with authoritative specialist, in the past, the biggest economist of the American investment company Pimco, Paul mcculley (Paul McCulley), which confirms that a high Gini coefficient is one of the most serious problems of the United States. This is such an important indicator, the expert emphasizes that it is only to improve and everything else will come by itself. According to mcculley, the situation in the US is so unhealthy that he and bill gross (Bill Gross) — the most experienced “bond king” at Pimco, has reached the point that began to support socialist Bernie Sanders (Bernie Sanders).
According to Simon Cooper, the current level of the plutocracy in the US has reached an unprecedented level, is unthinkable for Western Europe. The author cites the most obvious example of health care reform. According to the version of Cooper, one of the reasons why Republicans are going to deprive 22 million people of access to health services, while bearing in mind the likely consequences at the next election for the party is the willingness to please the influential group Americans for Prosperity, which is the only political instrument of brothers-billionaires Koch (Koch). It’s simple.
The American poor, the author argues, are worse off than poor Europeans. The average life expectancy in the U.S. is 79 years, while in the impoverished, a lot of Smoking in Greece — 81.5 years, and in Italy — 83. And, according to Simon Cooper, it’s not only healthy food, although the dominance of sugar in America is in itself a triumph of the industrial lobby in the United States. On life expectancy is affected by a number of other socially significant factors, e.g. access to free or low-cost higher education, state aid, etc.
In addition, the journalist notes that it is now quite clear that the political polarization in the US is much stronger than anywhere else. The tradition of “great coalitions” in countries such as Germany, prevents the polarization of society, as the government usually form a centrist party. But in France, Emmanuel macron (Emmanuel Macron) became President, being “neither left nor right”. Moreover, Simon Kuper argues that, say, even Breaksit in the UK potentially opens the possibility of a compromise, which is not in America trump. In this context, the author refers to the fact that most supporters of continued British membership in the European Union is now actively promoting the idea of preserving the country as part of the single EU market.
The journalist believes that the Western media space is also less polarized than in the United States. He refers to a recent report by the Digital News Report issued by Reuters Institute, which says that in most European countries there are major media that is trusted by both right and left. Therefore, they say, the Europeans are rarely in a situation of information isolation, with your choice of news sources. Americans, be they liberals or right, in fact, impose only those sources which they have a priori to believe. Why Americans trust the media far less than Western Europeans, with the exception of the French.
The same report States that “fake” news, composed for the purpose of earning or discredit other persons in the USA are particularly common, but, according to experts, the Germans and the French “fake news” is so alien that to designate them, use the English term. In the opinion of the authors of this report, Europe’s only supplier of “fake” news is the UK with their tabloids. In this regard, Simon Kuper reminds us that mass production is “fake” — this is the British invention of the Victorian era, about the same level and scale as football and Railways. But, most readers of British tabloids have, say, the ability to obtain information from the BBC. Thus Simon Cooper wants to emphasize that much of the BBC — ostensibly objective channel. The author of “sympathetic” to Americans, because the audience of extreme right-wing Fox News channel have no means of checking false reports, what have the British.
The author writes that the US and Britain — two countries that, in his opinion, created the postwar world order, today, themselves seek to destroy. The new editor of the New York Review of Books Ian Buruma (Ian Buruma) said in an interview with German newspaper NRC Handelsblad: “the fact that the British and Americans won the Second world war, made them vulnerable. Generation after generation has grown up with a sense of national pride, with the idea that they are not like everyone else… the British and American sense of exclusivity has prepared the ground for reactionary nationalism in these countries. The people of continental Europe, by contrast, emerged from the war broken, devoid of the fantasy that they can act alone.” Neither more nor less.
Simon Cooper develops his thoughts and writes: the U.S. President is the head of government and head of state, and in this regard, many American voters are looking at the role of the President of the Messianic figure, which is supposedly able to embody the entire nation, no matter how strange or policy. Taken to extremes during the recent election campaign, the focus is on the individual, reminded the fixation on “great leader” inherent, according to Cooper, Russian or Arab politics.
In his opinion, the only Western European country where the President has a similar role — this is France, but even there, voters are more interested in political agenda: the leader of the front National (National Front) marine Le Pen (Marine Le Pen) has lost votes in the elections, after has been unable to present your exit plan from the Euro zone. In most Western European countries, the Prime Minister- easily movable functionary, who may be punished for incompetence.
Completes Simon Cooper your unhappy thoughts: “Americans Have guns. Therefore, the political chaos could end in a tragic, unthinkable for Europe, especially if Donald trump will be subjected to impeachment, or if in 2020, with a slight advantage to win the representative of the Democratic party.
The misconception that America’s problems is the problem of the West exists because the world legislators of public opinion are concentrated in the United States. In fact, the “West” no longer exists, so Europe needs its own public discourse.”
I would like to add from itself: it is necessary not only discourse, but also a whole new perspective on the prospects for economic development and security issues of Europe.
And the truth is that the thoughtless adherence to the ideas of NATO expansion to the East at the expense of Ukraine and Georgia, the increase in military spending to 2% of GDP, mindless military buildup on the border with Russia — a dangerous path, and most importantly leads to nowhere.
