The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

"France is the country where money plays the biggest role in the well-being of individuals"

2022-04-11T03:52:17.114Z


Campaign lesson 4/4.- In the presidential race, all means are good to convince. This expert dissects for us an essential part of political strategy.


Madame Figaro.–

Is there an art to talking about money in this country where the subject remains taboo?


Yann Algan*.–

France presents a paradox: while our country is associated in the collective imagination with the famous "cultural exception, far from commercial concerns", it is the country where money plays the greatest role in the well-being of individuals.

This is the result of our major survey “The French, happiness and money”.

Another paradox: with similar incomes and living conditions, the French say they are much less happy than other Europeans, and their level of dissatisfaction concerns above all their purchasing power.

Read alsoFrédéric Beigbeder: “Our politicians lack romanticism in the hair-raising sense of the term”

How to explain this malaise?


It is in the collective sphere that this malaise is expressed.

The French say they are pessimistic when they think about their future.

Private happiness is opposed to collective unhappiness.

This observation can be explained by the level of distrust expressed with regard to others and institutions, which is much higher among us than among our neighbours.

It is therefore difficult for us to be part of a collective destiny.

Why this distrust vis-à-vis the institutions of our country?


Citizens do not feel protected by institutions while they are experiencing an acceleration of risks in their lives.

To live in a risky society when you don't trust the institutions is to live in a society of anxiety.

In video, the luxury villa of the Obamas during their vacation in France

So the French cling to money, which becomes a refuge…


Yes, money becomes the substitute for the absence of social capital.

What is specific to France is the level of verticality of our society.

We find it in school, where we learn little to work in a group.

This very strong verticality appears in the company with very hierarchical organizations which reduce personal initiatives, it is the same pattern in political institutions.

The French, who need proximity, trust their mayor more than their president.

How to talk about money in a society marked by inequalities?


What destroys trust is the feeling of lack of reciprocity.

The practice of tax evasion, for example, undermines citizens and reduces their desire to pay their taxes.

While France is one of the countries with the lowest income inequalities, the French, on the other hand, have the feeling of a status society (like the various pension systems) where not everyone is not housed in the same boat.

Does this explain why the French do not like the rich?


If the rich are frowned upon, it has to do with the feeling that this wealth is not deserved, that it comes from luck, privileges or inheritance, whereas in England or the United States United, this is seen as the result of your efforts.

Today that the engine of growth is seized up, the wealth of the French comes mainly from the financial heritage, which creates frustrations.

How to make the French happier?


By rebuilding social relations in a post-industrial society marked by loneliness at work and in the territories, so well expressed by the movement of "yellow vests";

by recreating places of cohesion, a story and a collective narrative.

Individuals need to editorialize the world to make a destiny for themselves.

In fact, I believe that if there is an art to talking about money, it is to make money not the alpha and the omega of the success of a life.

*Professor of economics, dean of initial training at HEC, he co-wrote

Les Français le bonheur et l'argent

, with Elizabeth Beasley and Claudia Senik, Éditions Rue d'Ulm.

Source: lefigaro

All business articles on 2022-04-11

You may like

News/Politics 2024-02-23T13:32:49.071Z

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.