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Comment by galactus | Hacker News Reader

I almost never comment on this forum, but reading this just made me laugh/cringe. I lived in France for seven years and I now live in Canada (where I read mostly american magazines/newspapers). One of the things I miss from France is the quality of mainstream newspapers and magazines compared to what I get here. "The Economist" is such a superficial magazine compared to, say, Alternatives Economiques, which you can find in any, any french "tabac" (well, it's not exactly the same kind of magazine, but using "The Economist" as an example of a good magazine that the french could not produce outraged me).

Fortunately there is always Harper's and The Atlantic on this side of the ocean.

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Well, I think it's more than necessary to explain what "Alternatives Economiques" is, because most people here probably have never heard about it. Indeed, it's a very well respected journal in France, written by scholars in a very scholarly style, on the topic of "alternative economic policies". As in, alternatives to capitalism. Chomsky stuff. Except that in France it's mainstream (most high-school economics teachers swear by it, and it's also very popular in universities).

Enough said.

edit: actually, I think it's a fair description. I could have said "Naomi Klein stuff", but it's far from being as stupid. So it's Chomsky stuff.

Then, umm, why is the French economy in such a poor state?

uh... the french newspapers can not be good because the french economy is "in such a poor state"? I dont quite follow your reasoning.

Anyway, let me quote Krugman on the french economy:

"let's ask how the situation of a typical middle-class family in France compares with that of its American counterpart. The French family, without question, has lower disposable income. This translates into lower personal consumption: a smaller car, a smaller house, less eating out. But there are compensations for this lower level of consumption. Because French schools are good across the country, the French family doesn't have to worry as much about getting its children into a good school district. Nor does the French family, with guaranteed access to excellent health care, have to worry about losing health insurance or being driven into bankruptcy by medical bills. Perhaps even more important, however, the members of that French family are compensated for their lower income with much more time together. Fully employed French workers average about seven weeks of paid vacation a year. In America, that figure is less than four. So which society has made the better choice?."

Altho' your French economics magazine may be appear to be of a high quality, perhaps it is printed on very nice paper, clearly that doesn't necessarily translate into high quality thinking behind it. It is like a French pastry, regardless of the quality, it is all air. Give me an English pudding any day.

english pudding??? ... I rest my case! ;)

You're right about the magazine but you're dead, dead wrong about the pastry. Come on...

edit: I don't know if you're talking about the real french pastry you can buy in any village in France or what passes for french pastry anywhere else in the world. It's not the french name or the tricolor flag on the packaging that makes the quality.

> "Because French schools are good across the country"

There is a huge protest of the teacher's trade unions right now in France (as usual...) because the government wants to test the abilities of children when they leave primary school.

I guess we'll never know what the results will be.

Krugman forgot to talk about the unemployment level, endemic urban violence and behemoth deficit, though.

French politicians are as self-serving and corrupt as everywhere else, except they really believe they're helping the people with their braindead policies, so they actually do even more damage.

Most french people still want to believe in communism. If you remind them of the disastrous failure it was everywhere it was tried, they certainly won't disagree with you, but nevertheless add something in the form of "yes, but if we really..."

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