El Opinador Compulsivo

Guy Sorman hace un contraste muy interesante entre Nueva York y Paris, que es al mismo tiempo el contraste entre EEUU y un país como Francia:

New York is easy. Also it is democratic, which makes the city even easier and very different from Paris. In Paris, you never meet a banker on the Metro. In New York, the Wall Street traders mingle with the Bronx suburbanites on the Number 6 Subway line. True enough, they have not stepped into the car at the same station. But they do mingle without any visible prejudices. New Yorkers may not perceive that egalitarian moment (for twenty minutes or so), the French do notice it. Democracy may be a veil, hiding abysmal income discrepancies, but it does allow easy coexistence and exchanges in the city. Consider the tip to the delivery boy: it seems to me, not given as a charity, but as a token of recognition. New York gives a chance to all: at least, the delivery boy believes in this open society promise and he should. How comes that Paris is ridden with social violence and immigrants demonstration, as New York is not? There is hope for the newcomers in America, and despair (or Welfare State dependency) on the European side. This remains true even in a time of crisis.