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> But they come at a high cost to society. That's such a hand-wavy argument. Can you prove that the cost of these laws is less? > Amsterdam is better than any

> But they come at a high cost to society. That's such a hand-wavy argument. Can you prove that the cost of these laws is less? > Amsterdam is better than any US city, for example. Yes, for you. Not everyone's going to agree with that.

akvadrako 8y ago
Not everyone has to agree, but to argue that Europe is falling behind you need to provide some evidence which is greater than all cultural differences. For example, the Neanderthals are falling behind humans because they are all dead.
- czardoz 8y ago
  > but to argue that Europe is falling behind you need to provide some evidence which is greater than all cultural differences. The parent post does provide evidence: no EU tech companies have hit Google/Facebook/Amazon/Microsoft scale. That's not a cultural difference, it shows that EU has not been as successful economically on the internet.
  - walterstucco 8y ago
    Are you really implying that in Europe there are no big tech companies just because in Europe fintech is stronger than search engines? If you look at fortune 500, 143 companies are north American and 143 are European But in 2001 215 were north American while only 158 were from Europe EU market is just more fragmented not less innovative
  - akvadrako 8y ago
    That is a cultural reference because Europeans do care that much about scale. That is only important as a show of power. But it has little positive balance on everyday life. So it’s a difference in values.
    - czardoz 8y ago
      > That is a cultural reference because Europeans do care that much about scale. That is only important as a show of power. I'm not really talking about technical scale here. I'm talking about economic scale. In those terms, it does indeed seem that the EU is falling behind. Also, it is not just a show of power, because these companies are reaping economic benefits from their power. > But it has little positive balance on everyday life. That's really your personal opinion. Many people (me included) would argue that the scale of these companies definitely makes a difference in your everyday life.
      - deleted 8y ago
        [deleted]
      - Whitestrake 8y ago
        > Many people (me included) would argue that the scale of these companies definitely makes a difference Many people would then be arguing sideways past the GP comment, which made no claim to the extent of the difference, rather that it was not a positive one. As you say, though, it's definitely objectively clear from an economical standpoint.
  - orf 8y ago
    > no EU tech companies have hit Google/Facebook/Amazon/Microsoft scale. SAP and Accenture are up there. I get your point though.

akvadrako 8y ago

Not everyone has to agree, but to argue that Europe is falling behind you need to provide some evidence which is greater than all cultural differences. For example, the Neanderthals are falling behind humans because they are all dead.

czardoz 8y ago
> but to argue that Europe is falling behind you need to provide some evidence which is greater than all cultural differences. The parent post does provide evidence: no EU tech companies have hit Google/Facebook/Amazon/Microsoft scale. That's not a cultural difference, it shows that EU has not been as successful economically on the internet.
- walterstucco 8y ago
  Are you really implying that in Europe there are no big tech companies just because in Europe fintech is stronger than search engines? If you look at fortune 500, 143 companies are north American and 143 are European But in 2001 215 were north American while only 158 were from Europe EU market is just more fragmented not less innovative
- akvadrako 8y ago
  That is a cultural reference because Europeans do care that much about scale. That is only important as a show of power. But it has little positive balance on everyday life. So it’s a difference in values.
  - czardoz 8y ago
    > That is a cultural reference because Europeans do care that much about scale. That is only important as a show of power. I'm not really talking about technical scale here. I'm talking about economic scale. In those terms, it does indeed seem that the EU is falling behind. Also, it is not just a show of power, because these companies are reaping economic benefits from their power. > But it has little positive balance on everyday life. That's really your personal opinion. Many people (me included) would argue that the scale of these companies definitely makes a difference in your everyday life.
    - deleted 8y ago
      [deleted]
    - Whitestrake 8y ago
      > Many people (me included) would argue that the scale of these companies definitely makes a difference Many people would then be arguing sideways past the GP comment, which made no claim to the extent of the difference, rather that it was not a positive one. As you say, though, it's definitely objectively clear from an economical standpoint.
- orf 8y ago
  > no EU tech companies have hit Google/Facebook/Amazon/Microsoft scale. SAP and Accenture are up there. I get your point though.