The fall of France
Steven Den Beste is very worried about France these days. No, not the way you think. He's worried about the strikes in France, which have been amply reported in the world press. What has not been reported, however, is the way the strikers intimidate, attack and vandalise opponents, while the police does nothing. This is really nothing new; the French government has for years had an attitude to strikers that can be amply described by the terms laissez faire and appeasement. A number of his correspondents have reported that just speaking out against the left-wing protesters who strike against a necessary pension reform risks life and health.
Den Beste sees parallels to the fall of the Weimar republic in Germany, which brought so much calamity to the world. If the economic problems are not addressed, sooner or later the state will get into serious troubles, and the drastic reforms then forced upon it may lead to collapse. Extremists, both Islamic immigrants and extreme-left groups, can use the apathy and disorganisation of their opponents to bring in a dictature of the few.
Consider how much the world eventually paid because of the collapse of the Weimar Republic. Then consider what the price would have been if the Weimar Republic had owned France's nuclear arsenal, and it had fallen into the hands of the Nazi dictatorship. What would happen because of the formation of a nuclear-armed Islamic Republic of France? Or a nuclear-armed People's Republic of Socialist France? Both with a religious zeal to spread the new French enlightenment to the world? I don't want to find out.
Historical parallels only go so far, of course, and the French state has been stable in its own particular way for decades. Even worst-case scenarios aside, it is extremely troubling if a vocal and violent group, backed by unions, can force the majority to accept its view of the world and its solutions.
I see the problem on a small scale here. Extreme left-wingers and Christian fundamentalists are in a minority in Norway, as they are in Sweden. Yet they are able to hold the countries hostage to a number of intolerant institutions and laws, directed against pornography, prostitution, alcohol and whatever is not politically correct. Sure, for issues that mean a lot to many, the extremists are defeated.
We have for example a state church, financed by taxpayers. Not even 5 per cent of the population bothers to go to church. In fact, our Prime Minister is a priest, having a party with around 6% of the popular vote but yet managing to get himself into such a powerful postion. It is just a fact that fanatics are so dedicated to their particular dogma that they overpower a majority that simply doesn't care enough to oppose them or engage them.
5:34:22 PM 
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