Sabine speaks with a passerby at a rally in support of the U.S.-led war in Iraq.
Excerpt from a Jan'04 interview with, Ayn Rand Admirers-The Atlashere
TA: [Individual responsibility is] an idea that is well known, if not always popular, in America. In France, is the idea even in circulation? When you say "ethics of individual responsibility," do people look at you as if you're crazy?
Herold: (Laughing.) I think it's something that people believe in and think about, but perhaps don't always want to apply to themselves.
In fact, you can have no right if you have no duty on the other side. Because if you have a right, you have to respect the right of the other. Which means you have to be responsible.
For example, in France right now there's actually a political debate about whether civil servants should be paid depending on what they're doing and whether they're good or bad. Some people, especially the unions, are simply opposed to that; they think that when you're in public service, your level of productivity shouldn't be considered. To me that makes no sense. If a civil servant is not efficient, there's no reason to keep paying him. (Pause.) France is still a communist country.
TA: France is?
Herold: (Laughing). Almost. I think in America, some people consider us one of the very last remaining communist countries. Some people are saying that about France.
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