Cowboy Capitalism: European Myths, American Reality

European Myths, American Reality

Plot

2006 Templeton Enterprise Award Winner. ʺAmericans work three jobs just to make ends meet, and unemployment is low only because so many people are in jail.ʺ Thatʼs what most European (and many American) pundits believe. While the U.S. economy may create more growth, Europeans think they are better off when it comes to job security, income equality, and other factors. But does European-style ʺcomfy capitalismʺ really deliver better results than American ʺcowboy capitalismʺ? Olaf Gersemann, a German reporter who came to America, checked the facts and discovered that the common perception in Europe and elsewhere of Americaʼs economic model is either wrong or misleading. The greater market freedoms in the United States create a more flexible, adaptable, and prosperous system than the declining welfare states of Europe. Contrary to what one might expect, continental Europeʼs welfare states provide no meaningful advantage compared with America. In clear and accessible terms, Gersemann separates the economic myths from the reality. Cowboy Capitalism is a provocative and devastating rebuttal to the stereotypes promoted by the likes of Paul Krugman and Michael Moore -publisherʼs description.