Third Industrial Revolution in
Planning Stages
 |
| The shining example for Hollande's approach to the economy, Jean-Baptiste Colbert. Here shown while presumably bringing fresh instructions to his hapless subjects in the manufacturing business. |
By Pater Tenebrarum
France's president Hollande has just meandered off the reservation into
wonderland again. Apparently after eyeballing a chart that shows declining
industrial employment in France, he decided that the time has come for a 'third
industrial revolution' centered in France.
How is this miracle to be accomplished? Simple, the government will throw €
3.5 billion at the idea.
“French President François
Hollande hopes to create 470,000 jobs by injecting €3.5 billion in 34 key
industrial sectors, but he will need Europe’s help.
President François Hollande
and his firebrand Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg presented a new
investment strategy for 34 industrial sectors on Thursday (12 September).
The French President was
following on the footsteps of Charles De Gaulle, who instigated French
industrial policy in mid-late 20th century. With France preparing to cut €18
million from its 2014 budget, a €3.5 billion boost to industry may seem
surprising. But it is part of a long-term project that the president deems an
essential “offensive strategy”, benefiting both unemployment and France’s
image.
“Industrial decline has
destroyed 750,000 jobs in the past 10 years. With this plan, we want to
recreate 450,000 new ones”, said Montebourg. Hollande defended the new policy,
saying that there was nothing “shocking” about it, and that “Germany, UK and
all major emerging powers are all developing industrial strategies.”
The recovery plan appears
oriented towards France first, with investment priorities oriented towards
French industry's specific strengths. Small fuel efficient
French cars will benefit from the policy's “environmental transition” banner
which references fuel consumption standards of less than 2 litres per 100 km.
Other strategic priorities
mentioned by the President – new technology and the 'economy of the living' –
also bring together important national industries, such as the food,
biotechnology and digital sectors.
Hollande underlined that it
was important to “ensure our digital sovereignty” at a time when three-quarters
of computers are manufactured in North-America. The president also
highlighted that France was lagging behind Germany in the field of industrial
robots – 35,000 in France vs. 150,000 for Germany.
“Quality is not only German,
technology is not only Japanese, innovation is not only American and
competitiveness is not only Chinese. The third industrial revolution will also
happen in France,” the President announced.
However, Hollande asked for
European support. He said that the European guidelines on state aid needed to
be rethought, and a competitiveness policy needed to be promoted that would make
cooperation between companies easier and allow for the emergence of European
champions.
The president also called for
a “true trade policy”. France has voiced reservations about ongoing trade
negotiations with the US, maintaining defensive positions in areas such as
culture and food.”
(emphasis added)
In other words, Hollande and his 'industrial renewal' minister Mountebank
want to create an 'industrial revolution' by means of government subsidies and
wish it to be supported by a 'real trade policy', which is an Orwellian term
that properly translated means 'protectionism'.
Wow! One can only marvel wide-eyed and slack-jawed at the novelty and
daring of these ideas. No-one has ever tried anything like that before!
No, wait. Someone actually has. And he was a Frenchman too, who
went by the name of Jean-Baptiste Colbert. This mercantilist dirigiste par
excellence is without a doubt a man after Hollande's heart. Today it
is widely held that 'France was impoverished in spite of
Colbert's efforts', due to the many wars the king needlessly pursued. But this
view glosses over the pernicious influence Colbert's anti free trade policies
and extreme regimentation of the economy at home undoubtedly had. One might say
he tirelessly worked to prevent economic progress (Colbert was well known for
his workaholic tendencies). We're not sure if Hollande's own mini-Colbert is a comparably
intense personality, but Colbert's ideas evidently live on.
The political leaders of France still believe prosperity is created by
government fiat and policies that have never failed to fail.
Number of industrial workers in France since 1970 via Insee / Standard.
This is a big 'so what'? It is meaningless without context. How many
people work in industrial jobs is not a criterion for an economy's health –
what is important is how much and what they produce.
No comments:
Post a Comment