Blood-Sucking Parasites

The cover story of the latest issue of the magazine of Germany's largest union, which depicts American businesses as blood-sucking parasites, has created quite a stir, to put it mildly:

In this post, Davids Medienkritik has thorough coverage of the controversy. Ulrich Speck (one of American Future's guest bloggers) posted the following comment:

It's not only the left who supports the European social(ist) model, i.e. the welfare state. It first and foremost the US.

There is a big, not openly outspoken deal behind this. It works like this:
America pays for international security and international order. Thanks to these public goods, Europeans can buy cheap raw material and export their products to the global markets.

A lot of the money Europe gets by doing so it spends for welfare programs. That is a means to pacify people and make them happy voters of the politicians who love to spend the money. Europe can spend this money for welfare because it doesn't need to invest in global order and security.

Is this an unfair deal?

Not for the Europeans. Many of them get money from the state - for doing nothing. That's the old dream of aristocrats and socialists alike. At the same time they are not responsible for what is going on on a global scale. They can blame the US for everything. This may not be healthy, but it makes you feel good. Morally superior.

Unfair for the US? Neither. As long as Europe spends it's money for welfare and not for weapons, the Europeans will not be able to challenge American supremacy. Americans get the blame for everything, sure, but they got the power too.

An interesting perspective.
From American Future