Job security and the political trilemma

Protests continued in Paris over the new controversial employment law that facilitates both hiring and firing young new job-seekers for employers. Students and workers, angry about the new law which will eventually put France’s famous and long-established “job security*” in jeopardy, were marching in the streets, blocking rail-roads, traffics and services to force the government of Dominique de Villepin to back off. But do they really have any chance? Does the government of France, have the authority not to make these reforms in today world’s economy?

Well, economists say No! According to Harvard professor, Dani Rodrik, The new rule of the game called “Political trilemma”, states that, out of “Global economic integration, Nation states and mass politics”, no country in the world has the luxury to choose more than two at once.

It means, so simply, people can no longer affect the government’s economical decisions by protest or even strike, since the governments themselves do not have enough room to maneuver due to the necessities of the global economy.
The good! news is, this is just the beginning of a package of comprehensive reforms, France has to make, if she wants to be a part of the global economy in the 21st century and there is no way the government could back down in the first step of the reforms.

So the job security is the first, and certainly not the last, in the series of precious luxuries that French people are going lose. Working 35 hours a week, 5 weeks of vacation and lot more are in the waiting list!

It hurts to have something precious and then lose it, but people of France should realize they are going to have to choose between Job security and No job at all! Like it or not, that’s the harsh reality of the globalization

So, my dear French friends,
Welcome to the new world…I know it sucks, but that’s the way it is...Bon appetit!



* Clarification for my North American readers: Job security is a European term like Vacation, Culture and history that has nothing to do with us, North Americans. It means that you are somehow more precious than a piece of toilet paper! and nobody can throw you away after wiping his ass with! but since from now on, we are all going to be the same, there is no reason to be jealous or worry about!