Commentary: Who are you calling a European socialist?

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, March 30, 2009 - In recent days, Republicans such as Newt Gingrich and Bobby Jindal decried some of the proposals in President Obama's proposed budget by comparing them to "European socialism."

Western European countries do differ from the United States in the way they view the role of government, and it is important for Americans to know about each as the current debate goes on. The difference stems from dissimilar institutions, history and culture. Western European countries evolved to representative democracies from absolute monarchies. Generally speaking, there is less fear of a strong, centralized government.

The United States arose from the rebellion of 13 disparate colonies against an unfair mother country. Individual states within our nation became strong players in its governance. The separation of powers and checks and balances as well as judicial review provided for more fragmented central authority than is found in Europe. In addition, a culture arose that did not value government and politics or their practitioners while it exalted the individual, the yeoman farmer or the explorer forging a path in the wilderness.

These differences contribute to the different ways Americans and Europeans view the proper role of government.

Although varying by country, European governments have played a greater role in their economies, including at times owning the means of production. In Western Europe, the workers' fight for the right to vote was accompanied by the fight to organize at the workplace. European unions assumed a combined political and economic role.

In the United States, universal white manhood suffrage existed before the Civil War, and labor organizations, which was more fragmented than the European model, was based principally on economic needs. In the latter years of the 19th century, business tycoons such as Cornelius Vanderbilt or Andrew Carnegie became American heroes, rugged individuals who climbed the ladder of success. At the same time, the Supreme Court gave businesses the rights of persons under the 14th Amendment.

This exalted status of the private sector and its captains of industry did not occur across the ocean. Britain nationalized (and then denationalized) its steel industry; Harry Truman's attempt to do so was slapped down by the courts and public opinion.

Every Western European nation provides a guaranteed annual income for its citizens as well as cradle to grave health-care coverage. The mechanics of these arrangements vary but they have existed for a long time. The United States has no equivalents. One reason that European governments have generally been more comfortable extending a social welfare net on various levels is the idea of steering members of the working class away from radical political alternatives. Otto von Bismarck introduced health care in the newly unified German state for that reason more than 130 years ago.

American institutions and their divided power have made this country inherently conservative on the social welfare front as well as more generally distrustful of government power. Business is not viewed negatively and the emphasis on the individual echoed the Horatio Alger myth: With enough hard work and pluck anyone can make it here (despite widespread evidence to the contrary).

There was no federal government provision of social welfare until the Great Depression, when private charities and state and local government were unable to handle the demand. Since then, programs have been developed to address poverty but they have not been overarching and they have been contentious.

In the area of health care, roughly 40 million Americans have no insurance at all. Coverage for all other Americans varies greatly depending on place of residence or employer. A national system has been feared because of possible delays in service or lack of choice dictated by a government bureaucracy. The irony here is that insurance companies now serve in that dictatorial role for many Americans as choice is restricted and premiums and deductibles spiral.

Is America's so-called exceptionalism superior to the so-called Western European socialism? That depends on the values of the person making the judgment.

James Q. Wilson, a conservative political scientist and an apt student of bureaucracy, highlighted differences between America and Europe based on their institutions:

• In Europe, policy making is easier; it is a prize fight; the winner takes all. In the United States, it is a barroom brawl with nothing ever decided and outcomes continually challenged.
• Europe allows greater authority to its government; we historically have not nor do our institutions often permit it.
• European countries find it easier to intrude into the affairs of the private sector; until this recent crisis, many Americans, Democrats and Republicans, decried intervention.
• Europe has cast a broad safety net over its populace; the U.S. historically has feared and fought government encroachment in the social welfare arena.

Despite significant differences, however, it is important to remember that the U.S. and Western European countries are all representative democracies.