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This is the kind of comment for which I personally dislike the US centered mentality here on HN. To address briefly your points: war is over and we won War?

This is the kind of comment for which I personally dislike the US centered mentality here on HN. To address briefly your points: war is over and we won War? I find a bit funny this mentality you have in the US to turn everything into a war (war on drugs, etc). In tech there is no war, we are all working to make the world better. One does not need to "lose" for the other one to "succeed". Moreover, the tech landscape is growing a lot here in Europe and is attracting people from the US too, people that don't like how things are going there, which means it's not so great as you would like to picture it. Without forgetting that USA and Europe are not the whole world, Asia is growing and at some point South America and Africa will too. "War", or whatever you want to call it, is not over and I don't think it will ever be. We've got better funding Funding is growing in Europe as well. Some US investors are coming to invest here. I've seen a friend of mine discussing with a US VC for his startup in Poland. Investors move their money wherever they see talent. A lot of talent moved to the US from Europe or Asia. As things get better, less talent will move there, leveling things. better language By better I think you mean more homogenous, which is true [1], but knowledge of English in Europe is growing and there are a lot of countries that are non-native English speakers but have percentages of English speaking people between 80% and 90% [2] better regulations and better spirit These are highly subjective. I, for one, strongly disagree on both of them. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States#Language http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States#Language [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language_in_Europe http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language_in_Europe EDIT: formatting

angersock 15y ago
I'm not inclined to disagree with you that the situation in the US is far from ideal in a lot of regards, but my personal experience (started a company [tanked] at 19, just closed accounts with my state and did tax paperwork, no repercussions, about to try again) tells me that regulations here are only somewhat of a burden, and the really bad ones are seen across the world soon enough to prevent us being disadvantaged. US copyright and patent law, SOPA, etc. could be disasterous for us--but via things like ACTA and the like, you can bet your ass we'll drag you down with us. :) As for the funding and language--proclaiming that you too use US venture capital and the English language really is more a testament to American soft power than anything else.
- DeusExMachina 15y ago
  proclaiming that you too use US venture capital and the English language really is more a testament to American soft power than anything else. No, it's not. Regarding VC, it means that there is more money there now, that's true. But the fact that VCs are coming to Europe can be seen also as you losing that power you claim to have. Same for language. I cannot deny that English spread mainly because it's the language of tech and the internet and that comes more from the USA (but remember that English as a language comes from England, Europe). But language is just a tool to communicate. European countries are adopting it, but that does not mean they are adopting it to talk to you, or at least not only. English is becoming more and more a language to communicate across Europe. I am form Italy and have been living in the Netherlands for almost two years, without having to learn Dutch. It also makes it much easier for people that want to leave the US, since they know they can come here and be able to speak to everybody. My point was not to deny that there might be an imbalance toward the US for some things, but nothing is over and I won't be like this forever. China has been the most powerful empire on earth for millennia. It lost its power, but it might regain it in the future.

angersock 15y ago

I'm not inclined to disagree with you that the situation in the US is far from ideal in a lot of regards, but my personal experience (started a company [tanked] at 19, just closed accounts with my state and did tax paperwork, no repercussions, about to try again) tells me that regulations here are only somewhat of a burden, and the really bad ones are seen across the world soon enough to prevent us being disadvantaged. US copyright and patent law, SOPA, etc. could be disasterous for us--but via things like ACTA and the like, you can bet your ass we'll drag you down with us. :) As for the funding and language--proclaiming that you too use US venture capital and the English language really is more a testament to American soft power than anything else.

DeusExMachina 15y ago
proclaiming that you too use US venture capital and the English language really is more a testament to American soft power than anything else. No, it's not. Regarding VC, it means that there is more money there now, that's true. But the fact that VCs are coming to Europe can be seen also as you losing that power you claim to have. Same for language. I cannot deny that English spread mainly because it's the language of tech and the internet and that comes more from the USA (but remember that English as a language comes from England, Europe). But language is just a tool to communicate. European countries are adopting it, but that does not mean they are adopting it to talk to you, or at least not only. English is becoming more and more a language to communicate across Europe. I am form Italy and have been living in the Netherlands for almost two years, without having to learn Dutch. It also makes it much easier for people that want to leave the US, since they know they can come here and be able to speak to everybody. My point was not to deny that there might be an imbalance toward the US for some things, but nothing is over and I won't be like this forever. China has been the most powerful empire on earth for millennia. It lost its power, but it might regain it in the future.