[ZenoArrow]

> "Maybe the populations of France, Spain, Italy et al will accept that they can't fund welfare states by borrowing in perpetuity and stop voting in radical left-wing governments."

I agree with a lot of what you said, apart from this statement.

There are problems with borrowing in a system based on debt, particularly if the interest on that debt is in the hands of profit-motivated enterprises. However, that is not the only way of funding public spending. It's possible to shift to a debt-free money system where new money reaches the system through government spending. That way there's no debt to pay back, and the level of public spending would only need to be limited by a need to keep a manageable rate of inflation.

In other words, whilst I agree there are problems with how public spending is funded right now, the problem isn't the radical left per se, as there are ways of running a fiscally responsible 'radical left' government.