It's a Jungle Out There.(concerns that Europe may be adopting the American model of business)(Brief Article)

At times like these it is odd to speak of one "Western world," so wide are our differences. Mounting layoffs in the United States have aroused barely a whimper at home, yet inflamed the passions of protesters in France last week, where unions were staging their largest demonstrations in years. They marched in 25 cities--80,000 strong in Paris--against a plan to raise the retirement age by five years to 65, the same age as in the United States. Carrying slogans that read we want time to live before we die, they blasted songs of solidarity from sound trucks, and accused business leaders of trying to impose on France the rough rules of the American workplace. "For us, the American job market is a jungle," said SUD union founder and leader Annick Coupe. "The U.S. is not a model to be followed."

The pace of "creative destruction" is accelerating in the United States, which only reinforces Europe's view of America as a Darwinian survival test for workers. In the 1990s Americans saw the first wave of layoffs ever to strike in good times, as companies pressed for advantage in an ever more cutthroat economy. Now the pace of layoffs is quickening in anticipation of a downturn, and Europe is increasingly wary of the trends. "Even a year ago, the mood in Europe was, 'We're doing everything wrong. We better follow the American model'," says Eileen Appelbaum of the Economic Policy Institute in Washington. "Now I'm struck by the sense of optimism. Job growth is back, particularly in the European 'Tiger' economies. In the face of pre-emptive layoffs in America, Europe is almost relieved to have another model to follow."

It's become fashionable in London and Berlin to trash as a "myth" the image of a "sclerotic" European labor market, choked by regulations. Europe now looks to its Tigers--Austria, Denmark, Ireland and the Netherlands--to show the way. The Tigers have achieved American levels of unemployment--4 to 5 percent--with very different methods. They've persuaded ...