6 ms·

GP's phrasing is wrong but there is a point there - it is much easier to achieve success and then regulate and distribute its benefits than to go the other way

GP's phrasing is wrong but there is a point there - it is much easier to achieve success and then regulate and distribute its benefits than to go the other way round. I am not a fan of unbridled capitalism a la the USA and fully agree that more countries should strive to reach European levels of worker and civil rights... however, there is validity to the statement that Europe is currently coasting along on the spoils of centuries of loot and plunder. A lavish, comfortable lifestyle was handed to the citizens of western europe and many of their older firms have struggled to innovate as technology has spread across the globe. There is a good reason why a fast moving industry like tech has taken root in the US while Europe as a whole is playing catch up. The US will solve its problems, i have full faith in that country's ability to rise to the challenge as they have done numerous times in the past. Europe's problems with tech innovation run deep and go beyond simply vacation days and worker rights. Look no further than the current spree of tech regulation. I wish more countries did that but there is a fundamental problem - the EU is trying to legislate without having a good alternative. My prediction - If the US resolves its immigration system and allows more talent to flow in without having to worry about a visa, European skilled immigration is toast.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
thiago_fm 5y ago
People will take my phrasing to their preferred way, I was aware of it when I wrote it. It's the internet. I'd need to be a great philosopher and writer, to write a boring book with the same opinion that wouldn't hurt them. Unfortunately, I am none of those two. Those who want to take it in the wrong way will and I'm ok with that.
sime2009 5y ago
> however, there is validity to the statement that Europe is currently coasting along on the spoils of centuries of loot and plunder. oh boy. Time for you to crack the spine of a history book covering the 20th century, me thinks.
pjc50 5y ago
> Europe is currently coasting along on the spoils of centuries of loot and plunder. A lavish, comfortable lifestyle was handed to the citizens of western europe Well, apart from the whole WW2 business. This is the trouble with generalisations across the continent, the closer you look the less well they fit. And if you look across a continent and back in time, the situation varies even further. Germany used to be "the sick man of Europe": https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jep.28.1.167 https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jep.28.1.167 The overhang of colonial benefit is present in Britain; I'm not really sure about France (the disasters of trying to hold on to Vietnam and Algeria?). It's not present in Germany or Italy which had it taken off them. It may well be an issue to Portugal and Spain, which were dictatorships well after the war.
- hef19898 5y ago
  I was at university, back when Germany was the sick man. And I was truely worried about getting a job. Well, things turned out very differently.
- sime2009 5y ago
  > Well, apart from the whole WW2 business. Let's be clear. By the time the last bullet was fired in WW2, Europe was basically destroyed, rumble, from the North Sea cross to Moscow. Brittan, although not occupied, was also hopelessly broke after the war. This weakness in Europe was one of the prime reasons why the colonies could break away from their European overlords. Europe was in no condition to do much about it either. They had more important things to worry about like food, and hoping that the Americans would come through with their Marshall Plan. That's just counting the western half of Europe which wasn't under new (communist) management. The loot and plunder was truly gone.
  - kazen44 5y ago
    people from the US seem to underesti
  - kazen44 5y ago
    the destruction of world war two was absolutely insane, especially on the eastern front. for instance: Belarus lost a quarter of it's population many villages and cities where utterly destroyed. also, don't forget world war 1 (and the other conflicts sparked after, like Russian civil war, breakup of Austria Hungary, Greco Turkish war etc) was only 25 years prior..

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

thiago_fm 5y ago

People will take my phrasing to their preferred way, I was aware of it when I wrote it. It's the internet. I'd need to be a great philosopher and writer, to write a boring book with the same opinion that wouldn't hurt them. Unfortunately, I am none of those two. Those who want to take it in the wrong way will and I'm ok with that.

sime2009 5y ago

> however, there is validity to the statement that Europe is currently coasting along on the spoils of centuries of loot and plunder. oh boy. Time for you to crack the spine of a history book covering the 20th century, me thinks.

pjc50 5y ago

> Europe is currently coasting along on the spoils of centuries of loot and plunder. A lavish, comfortable lifestyle was handed to the citizens of western europe Well, apart from the whole WW2 business. This is the trouble with generalisations across the continent, the closer you look the less well they fit. And if you look across a continent and back in time, the situation varies even further. Germany used to be "the sick man of Europe": https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jep.28.1.167 https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jep.28.1.167 The overhang of colonial benefit is present in Britain; I'm not really sure about France (the disasters of trying to hold on to Vietnam and Algeria?). It's not present in Germany or Italy which had it taken off them. It may well be an issue to Portugal and Spain, which were dictatorships well after the war.

hef19898 5y ago
I was at university, back when Germany was the sick man. And I was truely worried about getting a job. Well, things turned out very differently.
sime2009 5y ago
> Well, apart from the whole WW2 business. Let's be clear. By the time the last bullet was fired in WW2, Europe was basically destroyed, rumble, from the North Sea cross to Moscow. Brittan, although not occupied, was also hopelessly broke after the war. This weakness in Europe was one of the prime reasons why the colonies could break away from their European overlords. Europe was in no condition to do much about it either. They had more important things to worry about like food, and hoping that the Americans would come through with their Marshall Plan. That's just counting the western half of Europe which wasn't under new (communist) management. The loot and plunder was truly gone.
- kazen44 5y ago
  people from the US seem to underesti
- kazen44 5y ago
  the destruction of world war two was absolutely insane, especially on the eastern front. for instance: Belarus lost a quarter of it's population many villages and cities where utterly destroyed. also, don't forget world war 1 (and the other conflicts sparked after, like Russian civil war, breakup of Austria Hungary, Greco Turkish war etc) was only 25 years prior..