The typical view is that Western Europe is more left-wing than the USA, but are there any issues or topics in which the USA is actually more left-wing?
Europe isn’t a monolithic bloc with identical policies in all areas. For a simple example, gay couples in Germany have had same-sex unions since 2001, but even today they lack all the rights of married couples. Is Germany more progressive than US in gay marriage? Reasonable people could argue either side. There’s no clearly right answer.
I’ve also heard that the FDA is far more conservative when it comes to allowing new drugs and medicines to be sold on the market than Europe’s regulatory agencies. Inasmuch as liberals generally support regulation and some extreme conservatives want to abolish the FDA, I guess this could be seen as an example where America is more progressive than Europe. But the issue isn’t clear cut.
As the Joker and the Thief said, Europe isn’t a monolithic bloc. (Not all countries share the Euro currency for example.)
So to give an example from here in the UK, one of our political parties stands for:
- strict gun control (no guns for home defence; beat police not armed etc.)
- gay marriage
- the National Health Service (taxpayers pay for universal health care)
- no Capital Punishment
- **not teaching Creationism **in schools
- **Coalition Government *with another party
and they are our right-wing party - the Conservatives!
- currently in Coalition with the Liberal Democrats.
Some areas of the USA have more liberal drug enforcement with regards to cannabis than some areas of Western Europe.
I think it would be fair to say overall Western Europe takes a more liberal stance than the USA does overall on pretty much most issues, but as noted Western Europe is far from monolithic, and so for that matter neither is the USA. Though I have noticed that US politics tend to be far more polarized than European politics.
Several European countries have restrictions on abortion that wouldn’t be legal in the United States.
Isn’t the US’s protection of free speech pretty tops on the list of places with free speech?
True, but it’s hard to say whether free speech is left wing, because a lot of restrictions on speech (i.e., hate speech, Holocaust denial, etc). are actually supported by leftists.
I would say on balance yes, and that is speaking as a Yurpian.
Yep, and religion, in those we are tops, pretty much.
The biggie is economic policy. The “austerians” rule in Europe, with predictable results. There was limited Keysian stimulus in the US (even under W) and it seems to have worked. Or be working anyway.
Several European countries have partly privatized state pensions, the equivalent of when Bush wanted to create optional private accounts for Social Security. These are a long way away in America.
Vouchers for private schooling are routine and not even controversial in many European countries. They are furiously controversial and limited in availability in America.
Almost every European country has significantly lower corporate tax rates than the United States.
Politically? Dunno. Geographically, definitely.
All of which would be* less *liberal, methinks.
Well, I think that’s his point. High American corporate tax vs. low Western European corporate tax = America’s more liberal on that issue.
Few American vouchers for private school vs. many Western European vouchers for private school = America’s more liberal on that issue.
Few American privatized state pensions vs. many Western European privatized state pensions = America’s more liberal on that issue.
Not sure I understand. Aren’t we looking for areas in which Europe is to the right of the US?
Wow…so what does the left-wing party stand for, then??
I thought it was areas where the USA is left of Europe, but OK, I see your point now. :smack:
I think it was a couple of days ago that Feynoord fans threw an inflated banana on the field, and then there are the lovely antics of Chelsea fans in Paris.
Is all that homophobia and intolerance towards gay people I’m hearing about restricted to eastern Europe?
In the UK the differences between the Conservatives and Labour come down to economic issues, generally, these days (though it appears some in the Conservative party are far more socially conservative than the Cameron government). Labour wanting more government involvement, while the Conservatives are for a bit less (tuition fees, austerity, etc).