Modern Liberalism Frits Bolkestein bron Frits Bolkestein, Modern Liberalism. Elsevier, z.p. [Amsterdam] 1982 Zie voor verantwoording: https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/bolk008mode01_01/colofon.php Let op: werken die korter dan 140 jaar geleden verschenen zijn, kunnen auteursrechtelijk beschermd zijn. V Uxori Frits Bolkestein, Modern Liberalism IX Foreword This book is about liberalism in its European, not its American, variety. It consists of conversations with nine prominent liberal politicians, each from a different country. All member-states of the European Community are represented except Ireland and Greece; Minoo Masani provides an Indian point of view. The conversations are not with academics, civil servants or journalists because only politicians know what it means to depend on popular favour and to have to compromise. Only one of those interviewed has at present executive power: Gaston Thorn, from Luxemburg, who is President of the European Commission. Jo Grimond and Wolfgang Mischnick are active parliamentarians in London and Bonn, respectively. Seven have been, at one time or another, members of government. Because of the British electoral system, Jo Grimond has never enjoyed the traditional rewards of a politician, while for Minoo Masani the tide of Mrs. Gandhi's Congress Party proved too strong. Apart from Gaston Thorn, the European Commission is here represented by Jean Rey, who was its President and is now Minister of State in Belgium; and by Jean François Deniau, who was in charge of the European Community's relations with developing countries before becoming Minister for Trade in the previous French government. Per Federspiel has been a member for many years of the Council of Europe for Denmark; he was President of its Assembly from 1960 to 1963. Also the three last Presidents of the Liberal International, an organisation of all liberal parties, present their views: Giovanni Malagodi from Italy (1958-1966); Edzo Toxopeus from The Netherlands (1966-1970) and Gaston Thorn, who has fulfilled this function since 1970. All look back on long and distinguished careers: their average age is 68 years. Frits Bolkestein, Modern Liberalism X Many subjects come up for discussion in these pages: industrial policy and protectionism; trade unions and industrial democracy; decentralisation and the function of Parliament; the integration and defence of Europe; and of course the meaning and future of liberalism. The various dilemmas of the welfare state are discussed repeatedly and at length. Liberal parties may not have pat solutions to these dilemmas but at least liberalism points in the right direction. As Jean Rey said: ‘Liberalism does not belong to the nostalgia of the past but to the hope of the future’. Hence this book. By way of summary, an attempt is made, in a final chapter, to gather the various strands of thinking; they are interspersed with some comments. It will be seen that on almost all matters there is a considerable measure of agreement. Thanks are due, first of all, to the politicians interviewed, some of whom are very busy men indeed. I must also thank my wife and my secretary, Miss Laila Jansen, for typing and retyping large portions of the text. Both my wife and Mr. B.P. Rauwerda encouraged me to undertake this project, for which I am grateful. F. Bolkestein The Hague, 15 June 1982 Frits Bolkestein, Modern Liberalism 1 Jean François M.J. Deniau (Paris, 3 and 4 September 1981) Frits Bolkestein, Modern Liberalism 3 Frits Bolkestein, Modern Liberalism 5 Born: In Paris on 31 October 1928. Education: Institut d'Etudes Politiques. Ecole National d'Administration. Doctor at law. 1952: Inspecteur des Finances. 1955: Member of the general secretariat of the interministerial committee for European economic cooperation. 1957: Member of the cabinet of the Prime Minister and of the Minister for Commerce and Industry. Member of the French delegation to the OECD and the intergovernmental conference on the Common Market and Euratom. 1958: Director of the European Commission for the association of third countries. 1959-1963: Director general of the European Commission for negotiations with prospective new members. 1963-1966: Ambassador to Mauritania. 1967-1973: Member of the European Commission in charge of development assistance, budget and financial control. 1973-1976: Secretary of state at the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and of Agriculture. 1976-1977: Ambassador to Spain. September 1977 - April 1978: Secretary of state at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in charge of European Affairs. March 1978: Elected Member of Parliament for Cher. 1978-1980: Minister for Trade. November 1981: Vice-president of the National Federation of the ‘Clubs Perspectives et Réalités’. Frits Bolkestein, Modern Liberalism 7 Interview with Jean François Deniau 1. Liberalism in France Bolkestein: France liberalised her economy rather late. One wonders if that is the reason why large French companies are smaller in size than those in Great Britain, Germany or The Netherlands. Deniau: For a very long time, France was an agricultural country with a strong protectionist tradition, not only in industry but also in her administration. It was the tradition of Colbert. One of the virtues of the Common Market has been to help to accustom France to a certain type of liberalism. In the beginning, the aim of the Common Market was to find a base for the construction of Europe and to develop European integration and solidarity. That aim was political. The means chosen, however, were economic; they were also liberal. They consisted of a customs union: protection against the outside world but, at least among the six countries involved, the abolition of duties and quota. If you look at records of the discussions in France around 1958, you will see that not only a substantial segment of French industry but also many of those who might be called the theoreticians were totally opposed to the Common Market, because they thought that the French economy, unaccustomed to that sort of international competition, would not be able to make a strong stand against it. The best minds, such as Pierre Mendès France, were proven wrong. The Common Market has been very useful in educating French enterprises - in showing them that they could take on international competition and even profit from it. It is true that we hit upon the idea of establishing a global field of action for enterprises much later than the Dutch, the British or the Germans. Around 1962, the French government was rather opposed to Frits Bolkestein, Modern Liberalism 8 American investment in Europe. I recall a discussion I had with a Dutchman who said: ‘Of course it would be bad if it is a one-way thing. But it is much less so if French companies begin to buy American ones. We Dutch are not afraid that the Americans will swallow us up because, even though we don't swallow them up, we have considerable interests in the United States and elsewhere.’ So the Common Market has been a sort of school and there are now French companies, both public and private, which have shown that they can without any doubt hold their own internationally. SNIAS has 25% of the American market for helicopters. Michelin has an extremely successful American affiliate. It is true, however, that the idea of an international division of labour of the size necessary to be effective and to meet competition at home has become part of our way of thinking much later than in other countries. It is also true that there has been a rather vague political reticence in this regard. Bolkestein: Has economic liberalism now taken root in France for good? Deniau: It is not as simple as that. All responsible people in France realize that the consequences of protectionism are bad: one gains perhaps a few years but in the end it is in no one's interest. Even when there are protectionist manifestations in sensitive sectors - take, for example, wine in the south of France - agricultural leaders know very well that an economic dispute with Italy would also hurt French interests because we sell them butter, spirits and meat. The fact that there is an interpenetration of commerce and that one cannot simply isolate oneself is now well understood by everyone who occupies a responsible position. Nevertheless, there still remains a vague idea in France that, really, we can make everything ourselves and we don't have to buy abroad. It is a theme which the Communist Party in particular has taken up several times. This is because it doesn't mind a certain isolation for France and also because it feels that the idea could have some ‘sex appeal’. Therefore, although our mentality has changed to a large extent, it has not yet been entirely transformed. Let me give you an example: when the Minister of Economic Affairs in the government of Raymond Barre, René Monory, abolished price control, which had been demanded by the commercial and industrial sectors for many years, this was considered Frits Bolkestein, Modern Liberalism 9 to be a revolution. It worried a good many people. And now, with the new government, the debate has started up again. Should one leave prices free to obey the laws of the market or not? In certain circles of the socialist party there are theoreticians who say, no, one shouldn't; one should go back to price control. That is why I say this battle has not yet been decisively won. 2. Industrial Policy Bolkestein: Can one carry out an industrial policy without a certain measure of protectionism? Deniau: I think that an industrial policy indeed requires a certain degree of intervention by the state. In France, the word ‘liberalism’ has more than one meaning. Politically, it means a spirit of tolerance, the acceptance that there are various currents of opinion in a country, respect for the opinions of others.