4 ms·

Europe today seems to be exhausted and resigned to an obscure sideshow. Its material infrastructure outsourced to China/Asia and its digital infrastructure outs

Europe today seems to be exhausted and resigned to an obscure sideshow. Its material infrastructure outsourced to China/Asia and its digital infrastructure outsourced to the US. There is no shortage of talent ofcourse, but there is no system to tap it in meaningful and future-oriented ways.

rickdeckard 4y ago
True. I believe it shows the weakness in the political landscape of Europe, as many innovative EU-Companies grow first and foremost by supplying big companies in US/Asia. "Hitting the ground running" with a own launch in Europe is almost impossible due to lack of structural support, investor-mindset and language/market differences. I believe a stronger unification would be needed, but unfortunately there's no sign of improvement, as like in US the political trend in EU is for countries to become MORE nationalist instead of embracing a European Union...
- idiotsecant 4y ago
  I have often thought that the EU is the sleeping giant of world politics if only they could manage to get behind a shared identity as Western Europeans. Unfortunately it seems like you need major galvanizing trauma like a major war to drive disparate tribes of people together like that, and it only seems to last as long as it takes for the population a few generations later to forget that bonding event and revert to typical tribal squabbling (see American politics).
  - mongol 4y ago
    The "problem" (not really a problem in my opinion, but the main contributing circumstance) is that we all speak different languages. We can all communicate with each other using a few common languages but the majority have another native language than English. I don't think true identity-building can happen because of this. We will remain as we are, able to communicate but with distinct nationalities and identities. Not neccessarily a problem, just the way it is.
brnt 4y ago
My hypothesis that the engineering part of Europe isn't focussed on inflated numbers. People who like that are in LVMH's corner.
EdwardDiego 4y ago
> Its material infrastructure outsourced to China/Asia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Germany https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Germany
- nologic01 4y ago
  Not sure what the link proves... it is true that Germany still has a substantial and sophisticated manufacturing base, but it does not innovate in ways that would show up in market valuation tables such as the one being discussed here. The panic around the discontinuation of internal combustion tech is case in point. There are examples of European technological leadership (e.g Dutch ASML) but they are scarce. Many other powerhouse regions (e.g Northern Italy) that used to be important innovators have been hollowed. In critical areas such as the green energy transition (which is a top-priority goal of the EU) the EU as a whole is a net importer from China. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?oldid=551639 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php...
  - EdwardDiego 4y ago
    It proves that Germany still has a massive industrial base, which is contrary to your assertion.
nemo44x 4y ago
I read a funny comment - “Europe is becoming Argentina with castles”. Pretty apt really.
- NickC25 4y ago
  Argentina doesn't really export much - Wine, Beef, Lithium, and Footballers. That's it. Europe produces far more that is of importable and exportable economic importance.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- twixfel 4y ago
  Have you actually been to Europe lately? It's nothing like that at all.
  - nemo44x 4y ago
    I have (great prices right now) and although I love the cities and the people are friendly I find the business (and political to an extent) climate extremely myopic. I have little hope for European business relevancy 20,30 years from now based on the seeds I see being planted today.
    - twixfel 4y ago
      OK but that has nothing to do with Argentina at all. Your original quote made no sense at all and isn't "apt".
      - nemo44x 4y ago
        Huh? The joke is that the Euro economy is headed in the same direction as Argentina. Low to no growth into the future. Quite apt.
        twixfel 4y ago
raverbashing 4y ago
I'm glad the biggest companies in the US still manufacture in the US, like Apple, Nike, etc right?

rickdeckard 4y ago

True. I believe it shows the weakness in the political landscape of Europe, as many innovative EU-Companies grow first and foremost by supplying big companies in US/Asia. "Hitting the ground running" with a own launch in Europe is almost impossible due to lack of structural support, investor-mindset and language/market differences. I believe a stronger unification would be needed, but unfortunately there's no sign of improvement, as like in US the political trend in EU is for countries to become MORE nationalist instead of embracing a European Union...

idiotsecant 4y ago
I have often thought that the EU is the sleeping giant of world politics if only they could manage to get behind a shared identity as Western Europeans. Unfortunately it seems like you need major galvanizing trauma like a major war to drive disparate tribes of people together like that, and it only seems to last as long as it takes for the population a few generations later to forget that bonding event and revert to typical tribal squabbling (see American politics).
- mongol 4y ago
  The "problem" (not really a problem in my opinion, but the main contributing circumstance) is that we all speak different languages. We can all communicate with each other using a few common languages but the majority have another native language than English. I don't think true identity-building can happen because of this. We will remain as we are, able to communicate but with distinct nationalities and identities. Not neccessarily a problem, just the way it is.

brnt 4y ago

My hypothesis that the engineering part of Europe isn't focussed on inflated numbers. People who like that are in LVMH's corner.

EdwardDiego 4y ago

> Its material infrastructure outsourced to China/Asia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Germany https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Germany

nologic01 4y ago
Not sure what the link proves... it is true that Germany still has a substantial and sophisticated manufacturing base, but it does not innovate in ways that would show up in market valuation tables such as the one being discussed here. The panic around the discontinuation of internal combustion tech is case in point. There are examples of European technological leadership (e.g Dutch ASML) but they are scarce. Many other powerhouse regions (e.g Northern Italy) that used to be important innovators have been hollowed. In critical areas such as the green energy transition (which is a top-priority goal of the EU) the EU as a whole is a net importer from China. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?oldid=551639 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php...
- EdwardDiego 4y ago
  It proves that Germany still has a massive industrial base, which is contrary to your assertion.

nemo44x 4y ago

I read a funny comment - “Europe is becoming Argentina with castles”. Pretty apt really.

NickC25 4y ago
Argentina doesn't really export much - Wine, Beef, Lithium, and Footballers. That's it. Europe produces far more that is of importable and exportable economic importance.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
twixfel 4y ago
Have you actually been to Europe lately? It's nothing like that at all.
- nemo44x 4y ago
  I have (great prices right now) and although I love the cities and the people are friendly I find the business (and political to an extent) climate extremely myopic. I have little hope for European business relevancy 20,30 years from now based on the seeds I see being planted today.
  - twixfel 4y ago
    OK but that has nothing to do with Argentina at all. Your original quote made no sense at all and isn't "apt".
    - nemo44x 4y ago
      Huh? The joke is that the Euro economy is headed in the same direction as Argentina. Low to no growth into the future. Quite apt.
      - twixfel 4y ago

raverbashing 4y ago

I'm glad the biggest companies in the US still manufacture in the US, like Apple, Nike, etc right?