These days there are not enough of such intermediary groups, between the state and the individual, with the result that political leaders are often unduly guided by opinion polls.
Even in Britain, the trade unions tell me that employment contracts have less protection than in the past.
My presidential victory, if it had happened, would have been artificial in relation to the Socialist party. It may be that on my deathbed, I will come to regret my decision, but for the moment, I live at peace with it.
The problem with a purely collective system is not only that it requires economic growth, and the right sort of demographic trends, but that it prevents people thinking about their futures in a responsible way.
The European model is, first, a social and economic system founded on the role of the market, for no computer in the world can process information better than the market.
The European model is in danger if we obliterate the principle of personal responsibility.
