Research reveals countries like France and Germany are actively discouraging their young from becoming entrepreneurs
It is often said that the Anglo Saxons are more entrepreneurial than their European neighbours. It's a difficult generalisation to make, but we do seem to be less risk-averse: a new piece of research suggests the problem might start in the classroom
November sees Enterprise Week, the annual UK-wide week of activities aimed at getting young people to turn their business ideas into reality. But while youngsters in the UK will be rolling up their sleeves and attempting to become the entrepreneurs of the future, their counterparts across the Channel might well be nose-deep in textbooks warning against the evils of a market economy.
New research conducted by the Newsweek journalist, Stefan Theil, has revealed that rather than promoting enterprise among the young, textbooks in France and Germany actively discourage it.
Classroom textbooks in Germany blame entrepreneurs for everything from unemployment to alcoholism, to internet fraud and mobile-phone addiction. In France, a school textbook approved by the Ministry of Education states that "economic growth imposes a way of life that fosters stress, nervous depression, circulatory disease and even cancer."
With stark warnings like that it is hardly surprising that school leavers in France or Germany prefer to become civil servants, or that young people are ready to march in the streets against free market reform. What is the cost of this disinformation? Ultimately, it means fewer job creators and stagnant economies.
Last year in the UK, 448,000 young people got involved with Enterprise Week. Young people were given £10 and encouraged to "Make Your Mark" by setting up their own businesses. The initiative has been so successful in nurturing entrepreneurial spirit that it has been replicated in the US and India. So why not in the rest of Europe? In the UK we are often criticised for lacking in entrepreneurial spirit, but at least we show a desire to nurture the entrepreneurs of the future. Any future success depends on the rest of Europe doing the same.
