Cowboy Capitalism: European Myths, American Reality

Most Europeans (and many American pundits) are woefully uninformed about comparisons between life in America and life in Europe. German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder insists, “I do not want American conditions in the labor market….It has to be possible for people to live in decency and dignity without having to do three jobs a day and without any protection against dismissal.” And Michael Moore told the world, “We’ll be lucky if they cut us back to forty hours a week when we’re 82, or incontinent, whichever comes first.” But a look at the empirical evidence presents a very different picture. Olaf Gersemann, Washington correspondent for Germany’s largest economic and business weekly, refutes such myths in his new book Cowboy Capitalism: European Myths, American Reality. Steven Pearlstein, just back from a tour of eastern and western Europe, will also join us for an informed discussion of the American economy and the myths that Europeans believe.