Comments on: The UK, the country that uses its brightest minds to solve problems other developed nations don’t even have

By: french derek

french derek — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:54:01 +0000

Further thoughts after yesterday’s response.

Maybe one of the UK’s problems is the tendency to take the lead in actions dealing with a specific issue. Other countries look on, wait to see how these actions work out, then adopt or adapt, accordingly.

eg rail operation franchising: the UK approach was to franchise “lines”; France and Germany (amongst others) have chosen a simpler competitive model – which allows companies to operate competitive services over the same routes.
rail maintenance: kept mainly in-house in France (based on UK experience, I am informed).

eg Neighborhood Watch (is that still going?) has been taken up in France by some towns and villages.

eg Video-surveillance of streets/venues: France is selecting according to known crime statistics (work in progress).

By: french derek

french derek — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:01:05 +0000

One of the problems with the UK is that the dogma of “less government, more private” has become rooted. Other EU members expect government to fund infrastructure. In Adam Smith’s words to undertake the building and maintenance of structures that pirate individuals (alone or together) would not freely undertake. For sure, such infrastructure schemes are carried out by government licencees but the infrastructure itself eventually becomes the property of the state.

All I have heard of ASBO’s is that they were opposed by most professional groups working with juvenile delinquents – and that the existence of ASBOs has made their jobs increasingly difficult (ie the affected youth are now more hostile towards help). But, as you note, it would have been better to have a proper discourse about crime and society.

Not living in the UK I can’t add more.

By: Joe Litobarski

Joe Litobarski — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 09:37:49 +0000

To be fair to the UK, there are problems other European states have that we don’t. Political corruption in the UK means an MP uses public money to build a duckhouse. Political corruption in Italy means the governer of the province of Rome was being blackmailed by police after they photographed him taking cocaine with two Brazilian transvestites – one of whom was recently murdered in a basement.

We can also be thankful that the Prime Minister of the UK doesn’t own half the countries’ TV channels and newspapers. Having Berlusconi in office is like having Rupert Murdoch for PM. Italian scandals like the one above (a true scandal, by the way) don’t always make the papers here if the politician happens to be allied with Berlusconi.

Low levels of corruption, a relatively independent press, no serious problem with organised crime. Could be worse!