Off Topic France

I believe that nationalism is one of the things that makes people close their eyes to the fact that there is a big wide world outside of their narrow surroundings. Most of us have ancestors that are from all over the place, so to claim that we are are all the same is incorrect. Every country will have good and bad, so to say that one country is the best and others should follow is very narrow minded. There is a difference between political, economical and social nationalism, though it can be very difficult to split the first two. One might enjoy mingling with the thousands of mainly French people at our village fete today, and even more so if you can communicate with them. Sometimes being part of a different social culture can make you realize just how similar we all are. Nationalism can create borders, something that is just a loss for all, and we should be working to break down misunderstanding, not keep different views of life at arms length.

 

Frenchie I think I must be an internationalist when it comes down to personal relations but not when it comes down to economics. I have no problems having Chinese neighbours but I do have a problem if the local steelworks closes because of cheap Chinese steel imports - I also have a problem if the local shop is part of an international chain and I know that my money will be lost to the community if I go there. What I like about France is that if you get invited to a meal with a French family then you will get served up with local products - that is, unfortunately, not the case in Germany. I also do not want to go to Rome and find the same stores there as I do in Hamburg or Sydney. As regards movement of people - my neighbour can come from anywhere, but if rich foreign investors (be they Russians, Arabs or Americans) come and buy up whole streets thus forcing up house prices for everyone else then I do have a problem. But then this can also be internal - how many Cornish people are left in Cornwall ?

 

I agree on most of that cologne and would suggest that there are ways around the "investment" problems. If a government wishes to put the interests of the country and the people ahead of seeing money come into the system they can apply controls quite simply. Taking your example of Cornwall, many homes are second properties and only occupied for a few weeks each year. There is no reason why through the council tax system the owners could be asked to pay a very large premium. Empty properties in London are huge in number, and a similar system to really penalize the owners would not break any rules that I know of. These additional sums of money could be used if the will was there to build some more affordable housing. The buying up of properties to leave empty is seen by some as investment in a country, but it is bad, and not really investment at all. Dumping of cheap foreign goods can be controlled by tariffs, but too often governments do not want to do it as it will mean companies having to use higher cost materials that become harder to sell. A government can set a number of rules and regulations that do not prevent people from living in a country, but how they choose to live and at what cost is something that should be seen in a much wider context than often happens now.