Alternatives

(because our governments thus far have failed to do so)

(D`une étude de Gerard Hannezo et Anton Smitsendonk concernant le compte rendu Banque Mondiale janvier 2002

The following are proposed to our readers as a first suggested list. For easy reference I give the proposal numbers, but those numbers have no ranking significance [note ]:

1.    Raise the retirement age. This is a most obvious “solution”, and therefore we put it at the beginning. But in reality its place should be rather towards the end of the list, since so many less obvious measures have a claim for our attention. Raising the retirement age can only be part of a solution. A recent article on Japan suggested that, taken in isolation, such a measure would need to raise the age of retirement to 77. Politically and humanly this is of course impossible. Those who limit themselves at only looking at raising the retirement age may in their heart wish to sabotage a full discussion of the matter.
2.    Allow employees to work longer time, particularly where there are labour scarcities. In France this might go against recent legislation. In Dutch industries the lengthening back towards even 40 hours a week is already a clear trend. [note ]
3.    re-introduce, re-integrate invalid workers, and integrate minority workers [note ]
4.    Let our pension funds prudently make financial investments in ‘young’ economies in order to assist their development but also so as to maximise returns for our retirees, and help keeping the retirement system in balance. In the OECD Mr Helmut Reisen has worked on this topic and make interesting suggestions.
5.    Promote anything that could raise productivity in Europe and Japan, including measures, policies and agreements strengthening competitiveness. With heightened productivity we could produce with fewer persons what we currently produce. Part of such measures could be of a technical nature as one has been able to observe in industries like the chemical industry, food processing, car assembly, using also zero-fault concepts.
6.    Another part of productivity growth may be gained by methods and measures of   a “softer” kind promoting more co-operative methods in society at large. The Dutch ‘polder’ model of social solidarity may here have some application. The use of those softer kinds of productivity improvement are more important now that the service sector is growing. In hotels and restaurants, in transportation an in health care, domestic assistance more human contact and feeling with the customer is needed. Cultural adaptation and assimilation may bring about such improvement. Not worker more hard, but working more astutely with less stress, and share the gains over a wider population avoiding a clift between few high productivity workers and a mass of unproductive or unemployed. Within the context of “softer” methods of increasing productvitity also explore and improve the world of work and see if we can work ‘differently’, with less hierarchy, less control, more flexible structures, stimulating our workers’ creativity ; a different approach both for employers and for employees.
7.    Better attention for healthy work environment, less stress and “burn-outs”. Introduce also bonus and malus (for smoking for taking drugs etc., to make the public more responsible. Let us master the economy and not allow a 24hours 7day-economy. Let us not strive to work “MORE” but rather in a more clever way.
8.    Reform and improve the health sector more generally, in co-operation with employers. Make it more entrepreneurial. Use health maintenance programs could lead to a better cost-benefit ratio and a better life. We should not shy away from the idea that better health may also need more attention for spiritual health, and therefor avoid any acces of pornography and violence to the public media. What people do on their own initiative we cannot obstruct and judge, but the present permissiveness in public space detracts from public health. At the interface of physical and spiritual health other lines may be developed such as regarding the place of sports in society [note   ]
9.    Make better provisions in the infrastructure like transportation. Diminish waiting times on the big roads by developing coastal shipping, cabotage, intermodal traffic. Where possible closeness of work and living, public transportation [note   ]. Under this heading of infrastructure improve urbanism and give some weight to esthetic values. The dreary suburbs of today where our immigrants are shut up and find no guidance to our culture should soon be a thing of the past. The suburbs should be re-conquered for civilization, where “integration” becomes easier possible also for minorities. (note )   Again this aspect is cross-linked with other elements like health.
10.    Life-long learning, including both the young and the old, may be helped if employers could get some safety for increased investments in education and training. This might be achieved by transfer payments when employees who profited from expensive programs switch empoyers (we might look at practices existing in the football world) Protection might also be achieved by fiscal measures making investments in training depreciable like investments in machines. The OECD has already often advocated such a solution.
11.    Promote family interests and family growth in Europe. Fiscal advantages again could go a long way, but will not be the only promotion method. Let in some way the extended family return, and do not cut off generations from each other. The chief economist of Deutsche Bank, years ago in an OECD conference already pleaded facetiously for a return to the "long houses" as we find in some traditional east Asian islands. He did it in a jocular form, but there is some substance to the joke since he saw few other solutions making retirement life payable While fostering togetherness of families, even of extended families and the cohesion of generations, exaggerations will be avoided since they may be counterproductive. (note ) While we shall not begrudge women freedom of activities, it might be necessary to say farewell to the harsher forms of female emancipation. Some restrictions on social insurance of widows were inspired by such “harsher emancipation” ideals. The “purple” government in Holland adopted such limitations. In these respects too much equality is not good for the social cohesion which we shall need. [note ]
12.     More clemency and understanding for the truly poor. Do we not rely too much on a juridization of social relations? We should leave some freedom in the margins like the ancient Hebrews did time and again (not going for the summum in “profitability and technical productivity” during harvest but leave graciously some oars on the field to be picked up by the truly poor. In this respect the dispute between Prime Minister Kok and the Bishop of Breda, Dr Tiny Muskens of some years ago was of interest. The issue was the question whether a “truly poor”, in a situation of desparate emergency was allowed to pick a piece of bread from a shop, if he had exhausted all other means. Kok, based on his simple, straightforward, socialist workers’ education said “by no means; never”. He forgot that the thesis that in such situations the poor in question have in justice the freedom and even obligation to keep alive by taking from somewhere was already part of the doctrine of Thomas of Aquino. That was in the thirteenth century and it has never been refuted. The thesis could only be disputed by people who would be truly unaware or opposed to Thomas of Aquinus altogether. Such people do exist, we should not forget it. If we want to make Europe a liveable society (and immigration would not improve matters but make them worse) such a dispute should not be necessary in the future. In the present instance the dispute was settled amicably. The Prime Minister learned a useful point. But the incident shows perhaps a dangerous lack of understanding in our political community which we have to avoid.
13.    The need to foster also social and cultural cohesion came to the fore earlier, above (i.a. point …on urbanism, point .. on sports, point…. On continued education ) It is useful to point to those cross relationships. In the last resort education for cohesion cannot be a sector activity but must imbue the whole nation, and tomorrow perhaps the whole of Europe. Our leaders should give more attention to histroy local,national, regional, European, to its wealth in folkloric expressions, to old national songs which are a marvelous link to the past and a wonderful means to make the common past present again [ note    ]
14.    Anything which might reduce waste and useless expenditure should be fostered; anti-crime policies must be improved and made strict. On this particular question “LaVoix des Français” has also some ideas. With less waste we could invest in more useful things and thereby heighten the productivity of our economies.More safety in the streets. Crime is a burden on the economy. Broad policies ensuring greater safety and harmony will contribute to greater productivity and competitivity.
15.    Many more measures will be found if we begin to think seriously. The list should end however with a frank admission that some sacrifices in material living standard might be needed There is no harm in that. Our citizens, once fully and sincerely apprized of the facts, could well choose in favor of such a sacrifice, in order to retain a certain social and cultural homogeneity. The important point, meanwhile would be to demonstrate through our list that the sacrifice might not necessarily be as enormous as the United Nations hypothesis and its imprudent followers have suggested.

The above are meant as alternatives for massive immigration. In fact immigration as a solution for the demographic implosion can be safely rejected once we muster the will and the political and moral leadership to address the problem, even with respect to the retirement systems.
For the remaining problem: punctual scarcities in the labour market other measures may be taken, including highly selective temporary work permits and an effective system for return of migrant workers to their country . The method of the “guest workers” which we followed in the ‘sixties shall never more be allowed. (note )

There are two considerations of a somewhat general nature I should add to the above list. They may well condition the feasibility of the whole list of alternatives.
(a) Fulfilling the options outlined in that list would need a very great, indeed an exceptionally great amount of social and cultural cohesion. In turn realizing those options would foster and reinforce social and cultural cohesion. If readers detect a circular element in this reasoning, there is no harm in that, since the circle would be a virtuous one. However the question remains : how to set such a virtuous circle in motion. It would need a great effort to "educate" our populations. It might need an extraordinary leader or at least exceptional and widely shared leadership. Can we find that? Democratic majority rule usually favors the easy solutions not the better, the complex solutions.[note ]

(b) There is a second consideration which could be bothering. Even if the condition concerning social cohesion, mentioned above should be fulfilled, the question will rise whether such a program would be consistent with the present and further developing liberal international multilateral economic system. Or would the country (the region) to some extent have to "drop out" from full globalization and forfeit some of its free trade obligations? I would maintain that the above list is genuinely liberal, “pro-trade” and for the increase of productivity. Where not sufficient productivity can be achieved it frankly proposes relocation of production to developing countries. So our over-all approach should be counted as pro-liberal, pro world trade and globalization.
Yet there are special sectors which may need special treatment and exceptions. For cultural products a specific “exception culturelle” is already successfully claimed. Are there other sectors to be cut out of the world-wide trading system? Why would a measure of selectivity not be possible, for instance prohibiting Coca Cola from making its anti-christian propaganda for sorcery supplanting All Souls’ Day with pagan Halloween? Let us take an example from the Jews. They too impose on themselves certain restrictions in food codes, health codes, the celebration of Sabbath. And yet no one will deny that they play their full and active share in the economy and in society. A partial “drop out” of the rat-race, a certain self-discipline may be salutary for us as it is obviously for them.
But in order to be truly and responsibly selective we have to be precise on our claims for exceptions, and answer the question: how can a selective drop-out be achieved with minimal cost to the country itself and to the liberal world system at large? Voilà une question intéressante ! Would the World Bank which gave us their “globalization report” and furnished a welcome occasion for these comments not like to do further work on this question ? Or the socially more broadly oriented OECD ? We have suggested so in the past, but so far without response. It is therefore that we dare to put the question more generally to our readers.

Was our “first shopping list” too long, with too many details? We drew it up so widely in order to incite emulation and elicit some criticism by others.Even so the list is far from complete. We have not addressed the more technical question howto keep retirement plans afloat. Also we have not addressed how refraining from immigration of cheaper labor can be squared with the competitive pressures which our businessmen have to face in the market place. Such question need and can be answered. The long list made perhaps clear that many things are worth our attention before we abdicate and capitulate to the mis-understood “imperative” for massive immigration based on demographic reasons.

Anton Smitsendonk,
Paris, june 13, 2002