I still look forward to that utopian world in my heart

Topic: I still look forward to the utopian world in my heart

Just when the COVID situation in France was getting better, Taiwan entered the "alert state", looking at their ups and downs in the number of infected people last year. Actually, I don't remember the details very much. It seems that the situation is better in summer, and they relax, and the weather is cold. The city will be closed again... So it can be seen that they are more optimistic about the epidemic or do not believe in evil.

As an outsider, I only occasionally watch European news and worry about them. Obviously at that time, the number kept rising, many people said that business could not be done, and many people did not need to go to work, but among the French friends I know, no one was really worried. of. They will complain but I don't seem to be worried - including whether the epidemic will be out of control? Will the economy collapse?

At first they would also complain that other people don't take it seriously, don't listen to the government's advice, are stupid and insist on running out...etc, but I was surprised that no one (my friend) mentioned their finances The problem is not just that I am doing business now, I think most people in Taiwan are still worried about the economy first.

French seem to feel welfare is the solution

Then I found that most of them are not worried about economic problems because they have very good social welfare. (I wrote this article very casually, without verifying the information) People who are completely unable to go to work, such as tourism and catering practitioners, the government will 84% of their salaries are paid, and the government's bailout fund reaches 110 billion euros .

So I asked my friend JB: "The government sends so much money, you are not afraid of the government going bankrupt?"

It seems stupid to ask this kind of question, JB replied: "That's because you Taiwanese are too used to the numbers going up, but sometimes the economic situation is bad so don't be too nervous..."

I didn't want to respond to this paragraph, but in fact, I have been listening to the media last year that Taiwan is the only country with GDP growth, and I was very disapproving, but discussing the strangeness of this article will lose focus.

French friend Adrian knew that we opened a dessert shop in early April. We encountered the epidemic in early May and quickly entered the third stage of epidemic prevention. It seemed that we had no time to prepare, and we did not do a good job of risk management in advance, but France People always think differently.

Before our government released any subsidies, he took the initiative to send a message to care: "Have you gone to the government department to ask? Can you get subsidies for doing business?"

In the most direct thinking of the French, there is no need to care about the conditions at all. If the business will be affected, of course, you can apply for subsidies.

So I told him that our company was established in 2017, and the epidemic just started last year. (Although there was no problem in Taiwan) the performance of department stores was lower than the same period of the previous year. We could apply for subsidies in compliance with regulations, but we felt that My financial situation is decent, so I didn't apply for the subsidy.

Adrian said incredulously: "If you are affected, you need to apply. This is a right that citizens should enjoy!"

This is also the reaction that the French usually have. Just a while ago, I accidentally saw a foreign youtuber in Taiwan sharing something that their home country did well and suggested that the Taiwan government do it? All Europeans said without hesitation that the "welfare part" can refer to their home country, and it is better that the Taiwan government is the rest!

I explained to Adrian the idea of our founding father's "all under heaven" - I often told French friends that this concept came from the ideal world of Confucius, but it was also influenced by the French Revolution " Liberté , Equality , Égalité , Brother Fraternité ( Our translation is fraternity)".

I joked with Adrian: "If I don't have money to eat, I'll go to my neighbor's elder's house. Most of the elders in Taiwan are very generous and are willing to give food to the younger generation! Or I can help with some housework."

The deceased is not alone

 I was born and raised in Taipei City, and I don’t have much experience in interacting with neighbors, but I lived opposite Zhonghe No. 4 Park a few years ago. Although I lived in the building, it happened to be a military village nearby. When I went to the traditional market, I met some old people and my neighbors. I knew that I lived alone, and they all said that it was very hard to work outside alone, and I went to their house to eat when I had time. I also took the initiative to tell them that if it was inconvenient, I could help me buy vegetables. . (Although I have never made an appointment, I believe the old people are sincerely inviting me) 

Adrian added, "Then what if you don't have the money to pay the rent?"

Widowed, lonely and disabled, all have support

I said, "If I really get to this point, I'll apply for the subsidy again~"

In the end Adrian said to me: "This is utopia. Freedom, equality, we may all be able to do it, but 'brothers' are impossible, not even in France!"

"I agree."

In fact, we all know that this is an impossible ideal world. Just like Fraternité's concept is "Do not do to others what you do not want to do to yourself", but how can you ask everyone to be unselfish? Rousseau, who was basically a fallacy and achieved the French Enlightenment, also believed that human nature is inherently good , and only under this premise can it be possible to achieve the world of Great Harmony.

 I just don't know why I still like to share this "tradition" with foreigners. I think this should be the foundation of a country, right? After all, I decided to read law because I liked Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the "philosopher" who influenced the French society of rule of law. I believe that I am still a bit "eight-legged" to some extent and can be regarded as a patriot, not just a nationalist .

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