>By "worker solidarity" you mean laws enforced by socialist bureaucrats? Socialist movements and ideas, although fair, win votes and elections, especially in t

>By "worker solidarity" you mean laws enforced by socialist bureaucrats? Socialist movements and ideas, although fair, win votes and elections, especially in tough times like these, even though those ideas aren't financially viable or would backfire in the long run. Because which voter doesn't want bigger wages or bigger pensions, who cares where the money comes form? It's why my Spanish, Greek and Italian friends tell me their countries are sliding downhill economically. > Is that a sustainable model? Does it allow for economic and technical progresses being made? It was a sustainable model before the rise of globalization, back in the '50s till the '80s, when it weas the west vs the east, capitalism vs communism, so western labor and governments had leverage over their large corporate entities. Now, in the globalized world, free of trade and capital barriers, not so much. Tax corporate profits too much to pay for infrastructure, and social services that serve their workforce? The companies will just relocate to Luxembourg, Netherlands, Ireland or other complex tax voidance structure involving some British overseas Territories. Factory workers want more pay and less hours? They relocate production somewhere else where those aren't an issue. Corporations have managed to have their cake and eat it too, at the expense of the workers and the environment.