4 ms·

Spain was razed to the ground during the Civil War (1936-1939) and people were literally eating cats and rats off the streets so I doubt that any of our current

Spain was razed to the ground during the Civil War (1936-1939) and people were literally eating cats and rats off the streets so I doubt that any of our current wealth is inherited from our former Imperial glory, aside from maybe some intangible, indirect and minuscule effects such as “historic capital”. To your point, same goes for Germany indeed… Have you guys seen the pics of what cities like Berlin, Nuremberg or Frankfurt looked like after the war? There is a lot of old money in Europe, as some families managed to shield it from these crises, then compound interest did the rest, but I’d really like to see some proof about the sentiment being repeated ITT that Europe’s current wealth is inherited or handed down, because the idea sounds contrary to everything I know about the continent’s history.

pjc50 5y ago
Perhaps not Europe as a whole, but definitely the concentrated structure of land ownership, e.g. https://www.businessinsider.com/why-hugh-grosvenor-duke-of-westminster-is-richer-than-queen-2020-4?r=US&IR=T https://www.businessinsider.com/why-hugh-grosvenor-duke-of-w... To some extent I think the social structures produced by inherited wealth are anti-conduicive to innovation. Where's the innovation in the US? Most would say it's concentrated out west, in a state that didn't exist until 1850. The social structures of concentrated wealth in the South from the slavery era make it less innovative. And the northeast centers on money-making-money and property ownership. The real sweet spot, of course, is cashing out: finding how to get the old money and oil money to invest in your new innovation. The success of WeWork, for example.
kgwgk 5y ago
"Spain was razed to the ground during the Civil War [...] same goes for Germany indeed" I wouldn't say that Spain was "razed to the ground" compared to Germany.
- arcturus17 5y ago
  Yes, it is an exaggeration while in the case of Germany it’s literal (though in Spain, a few towns were razed, and many were heavily shelled) People eating cats and rats off the streets is not an exaggeration however - there is abundant oral testimony to support that. The point is that the damage hardly justifies talking about economies who live off inherited wealth, in either case.
  - anthk 5y ago
    There is an old saying in Spain meaning "they scammed you": Te han dado gato por libre (They gave you cat -meal- as hare). So, yes. after the civil war and Francoist repression Spain was utterly crushed down.
    - kgwgk 5y ago
      The use of that expression goes back several centuries, it has nothing to do with the war.

pjc50 5y ago

Perhaps not Europe as a whole, but definitely the concentrated structure of land ownership, e.g. https://www.businessinsider.com/why-hugh-grosvenor-duke-of-westminster-is-richer-than-queen-2020-4?r=US&IR=T https://www.businessinsider.com/why-hugh-grosvenor-duke-of-w... To some extent I think the social structures produced by inherited wealth are anti-conduicive to innovation. Where's the innovation in the US? Most would say it's concentrated out west, in a state that didn't exist until 1850. The social structures of concentrated wealth in the South from the slavery era make it less innovative. And the northeast centers on money-making-money and property ownership. The real sweet spot, of course, is cashing out: finding how to get the old money and oil money to invest in your new innovation. The success of WeWork, for example.

kgwgk 5y ago

"Spain was razed to the ground during the Civil War [...] same goes for Germany indeed" I wouldn't say that Spain was "razed to the ground" compared to Germany.

arcturus17 5y ago
Yes, it is an exaggeration while in the case of Germany it’s literal (though in Spain, a few towns were razed, and many were heavily shelled) People eating cats and rats off the streets is not an exaggeration however - there is abundant oral testimony to support that. The point is that the damage hardly justifies talking about economies who live off inherited wealth, in either case.
- anthk 5y ago
  There is an old saying in Spain meaning "they scammed you": Te han dado gato por libre (They gave you cat -meal- as hare). So, yes. after the civil war and Francoist repression Spain was utterly crushed down.
  - kgwgk 5y ago
    The use of that expression goes back several centuries, it has nothing to do with the war.