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>A bottom up cultural shift is required to change startup culture in Europe. History and the study of Volksgeists shows that's almost impossible without any ma
by FirmwareBurner 1y ago
>A bottom up cultural shift is required to change startup culture in Europe.
History and the study of Volksgeists shows that's almost impossible without any major revolutionary event.
The status quo Europeans have had for centuries was their lives being at the mercy of some higher monarchic power, be it emperors, kings, lords, etc, then revolutionary communists, fascists, dictators, etc, and post-WW2 at the mercy of the social welfare state to handle everything for you. There was never a period our relatively recent history where we could just do whatever we wanted, without the ruling powers interfering some way or dictating the rules till the next regime change, and so the Volksgeist inherited and passed on that status quo across generations, kind of like Plato's cave, or like a fish in the water. That's why many Europeans who felt held back or persecuted by the status quo fled to the US decades/centuries ago.
This is totally opposite to the American way of life since 1776 where the state was mostly hands-off to leave you alone and would not help you out, nor get in your way, you'd live or die based on your own individual actions. I realize this is different today for Americans, with the government having way more taxes, regulations and social services than in 1776, but the original Volksgeist around minimalist government, individualism, personal freedom and self-responsibility still prevails.
So people can say "we need to change" all they want, but the reality is that's never gonna happen, Europeans aren't gonna become Americans and Americans aren't gonna become Europeans, the cultural inertia is too powerful, and you can't fight against the stream.
- vb-8448 1y agommm ... your argument doesn't explain why China is more succesfully? They used to have some higher power since forever
- FirmwareBurner 1y agoSome European nations were also successful when ruled by higher powers, see the colonial empires of Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, etc. but so many wanna-be world powers occupying a small space led to constant conflicts, limited freedoms, bloody regime changes, and the famous self-immolations of WW1 and WW2 which finally introduced modern democracy to Europe and a end(on paper) to their focus on world domination. My point is, it can be easy to become economically successful like China when you're a large country with massive human capital and don't give a fuck about democracy, slavery, human abuse and welfare, regulations, etc. and prioritize money at all cost. It's how most empires became empires.
- logicchains 1y agoThe average Chinese businessperson of that generation has as little trust in the government as the most hardcore American conservative, due to the extreme corruption they witnessed.
- FirmwareBurner 1y agoAs someone from a relatively successful country with entrenched high levle corruption, I can say that cuts both ways. Plenty of business people actually like the high level corruption because it can make doing business easier for them: no red tape, no long wait times, just bribe a some politician and all your paperwork is approved instantly, then it's smooth sailing. That's how China became rich despite corruption. What you don't want is the Africa style corruption where every single peon and government worker from the top to the bottom, from the president to the policeman on the street, wants a bribe from you every 5 minutes for random reasons they make up. This way nothing ever gets done and the country stays perpetually poor.
- disgruntledphd2 1y agoYeah, high level corruption is bad, but pervasive corruption is much, much worse.