>>European societies sacrifice a bit of growth potential and individual freedom to get better living conditions for all. I think that's a wise move The problem

>>European societies sacrifice a bit of growth potential and individual freedom to get better living conditions for all. I think that's a wise move The problem with sacrificing growth rates ought to be that interest accumulate -- that is, Europe becomes further and further behind. But that seems to be countered by a variant of "second mover advantage" -- it is easier to grow fast when you are far behind (see e.g. China). The Americans might be beating down the path for us. Who knows how slow we would otherwise move...? Would be interesting to read a serious analysis of this.