Capitalist Manifesto

Some of the new groups are taking the fight into the streets. In France, Liberté Chérie is leading the pro-capitalist fringe, organizing the country's first pro-reform demonstrations and counter protests to recent union strikes. Its biggest demo drew only 80,000 people, but it was the first time many French learned that there were ordinary citizens supporting pro-market reforms. Bigger changes will likely come in a decade or two, says Disney, when the twenty- and thirty-somethings who dominate the new pro-market groups today become editors, politicians and business leaders. Indeed, a recent poll by the IPOS Institute finds the market economy's approval rating rising to 59 percent among Germans under 30, with only 32 percent saying the state needs to play a bigger role. Ten years ago, the figures were reversed. "The values shift is already underway," says Bürklin. It's about time.

© 2006