Abstract
This text studies the case of the European Social Model. James Wickham defines and proves the existence of the European Social Model. His main idea is that this model is the main feature of the Europe's definition. He adopts the commonly recognized idea that you cannot define something otherwise than in opposition with another thing; this other being here the US liberal model. It is easy to understand that the author stands against the American model. Wickham then demonstrates the existence of a common European model, mainly based on the welfare State and what ensues from it. He exposes the main features of this model, the social and economic citizenship, the lesser big inequality that ensues from the European model than the American one, the difference between the US's charity and the European welfare state, etc.
According to Wickham, what defines the European Social Model is its difference of point of view from the US model; the ESM doesn't seek the profit at any cost, like the American one, but is looking forward to serve the user citizen. In a second time, the author, aware of the critics against the European Social Model, tries to show that the inefficiency of the European Social Model is disputable, and is mainly a matter of perspective (as he criticize, in a very anti-liberal tradition, the choice of GNB (it also works for the GDP) as the main comparison indicator between the economies, and suggests that if we used the HDI instead, the economies ranking would be much different).
