I think the part in the article about being in a public space as opposed to being in a confined space speaks to a primal human trait, if not to say a need. Before/outside civilization, the whole group would be together nightly around the fire. In Europe, they have high wages, high taxes, yet an affordable 'cafe society' that seems designed to fulfill that aspect of humanness within civilization--though it, too, is under threat from U.S.-style capitalism.