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One of my coworkers points out to me every sports reference that pops up in our internal company communications (e.g. "WINNING", "Going to put together a winnin

One of my coworkers points out to me every sports reference that pops up in our internal company communications (e.g. "WINNING", "Going to put together a winning team," etc). It seems like everything in the US is couched in competitive language.

chrisco255 5mo ago
Yeah, its no accident that the U.S. is the number one economy, it comes from that kind of thinking across the populace. Complacency gets you conquered.
- teaearlgraycold 5mo ago
  We could do with a little less of it IMO. But I have heard plenty from European expats about the entrenched complacency over there. I'm told people looking to improve some system or product run right into a wall of "Why bother?".
  - DiogenesKynikos 5mo ago
    The flipside of that is that Europeans generally get way more vacation and free time, and as a consequence, can enjoy life more.
    - teaearlgraycold 5mo ago
      On average yes they seem to be better off. I have been lucky and have certainly beat the European average quality of life.
- dataflow 5mo ago
  Number one economy if you ignore the comical debt. The US is borrowing from the future. Those chickens are going to come home to roost.
- khriss 5mo ago
  > its no accident that the U.S. is the number one economy Sure, it's the largest by GDP, but how much of that GDP is filtering down to the regular people? Are Americans, on average happier and have better life outcomes than other developed nations?
  - tick_tock_tick 5mo ago
    > but how much of that GDP is filtering down to the regular people? An absolutely insane amount. It's ridiculous just how wealthy and the quality of life the average American has compared to the world. > Are Americans, on average happier and have better life outcomes than other developed nations? Yeah for the most part they are in the same ballpark.
    - krige 5mo ago
      > An absolutely insane amount. It's ridiculous just how wealthy and the quality of life the average American has compared to the world. I've been there last year. This is absolutely not true compared to Europe, including post-soviet states. Might have been true a few decades back maybe. Of course, we can argue that the US citizens have it made compared to someone in Kenya (do they?) but that's not the spirit of the question, is it?
      - randysalami 5mo ago
        Depends where in Europe. Lots of Europeans suffer so other Europeans can prosper. Add to the fact that Europe still benefits from imperialism and that Europe is facing an existential crisis, I would take be the average American long-term.
      - carlgreene 5mo ago
        I mean it is pretty clear if you look at the data around purchasing power of the median earner (~$44K/yr in US) the US is significantly higher than most EU countries.
      - tick_tock_tick 5mo ago
- pasquinelli 5mo ago
  it kind of is an accident that ww2 didn't effect the united states but did effect europe and asia rather a lot.
- lkramer 5mo ago
  As a non-American I agree with this. There is a whole different energy to Americans in terms of mindset compared to Europeans (not just in business). I think Europe have outstanding talent, and when it comes together it can be exceptionally good and often in a more sustainable way than the American equivalent, but it's a somewhat sad fact that many of the most successful European companies have been successful by emulating (parts of) the American culture.
- gmerc 5mo ago
  You made sickness and dying contribute to GDP, of course you are number one. Keep it.
- tenacious_tuna 5mo ago
  Number one economy yes, but other measures lag: education, health care outcomes, overall happiness, life expectancy... I suspect that when you bring a competitive attitude into every aspect of life it limits how much you're willing to invest in systems that don't seem to give you an individual advantage. Americans are much more against single payer healthcare, or investing in public transit, or other forms of social support than their peer (or "near-peer", to use the government's preferred term) nations. It almost feels like a comedic extrapolation of the classic sports-team movie arc: Sure, it's possible to create a team that prizes winning above all else, but is winning all that's worthwhile at the end of the day?
- wiseowise 5mo ago
  And of course it is because competitive mentality and not geography and industrial base that allowed it to not only ride WW1 and WW2 unscathed, but also leap over old European colonial powers that were busy trying to fucking kill each other.

chrisco255 5mo ago

Yeah, its no accident that the U.S. is the number one economy, it comes from that kind of thinking across the populace. Complacency gets you conquered.

teaearlgraycold 5mo ago
We could do with a little less of it IMO. But I have heard plenty from European expats about the entrenched complacency over there. I'm told people looking to improve some system or product run right into a wall of "Why bother?".
- DiogenesKynikos 5mo ago
  The flipside of that is that Europeans generally get way more vacation and free time, and as a consequence, can enjoy life more.
  - teaearlgraycold 5mo ago
    On average yes they seem to be better off. I have been lucky and have certainly beat the European average quality of life.
dataflow 5mo ago
Number one economy if you ignore the comical debt. The US is borrowing from the future. Those chickens are going to come home to roost.
khriss 5mo ago
> its no accident that the U.S. is the number one economy Sure, it's the largest by GDP, but how much of that GDP is filtering down to the regular people? Are Americans, on average happier and have better life outcomes than other developed nations?
- tick_tock_tick 5mo ago
  > but how much of that GDP is filtering down to the regular people? An absolutely insane amount. It's ridiculous just how wealthy and the quality of life the average American has compared to the world. > Are Americans, on average happier and have better life outcomes than other developed nations? Yeah for the most part they are in the same ballpark.
  - krige 5mo ago
    > An absolutely insane amount. It's ridiculous just how wealthy and the quality of life the average American has compared to the world. I've been there last year. This is absolutely not true compared to Europe, including post-soviet states. Might have been true a few decades back maybe. Of course, we can argue that the US citizens have it made compared to someone in Kenya (do they?) but that's not the spirit of the question, is it?
    - randysalami 5mo ago
      Depends where in Europe. Lots of Europeans suffer so other Europeans can prosper. Add to the fact that Europe still benefits from imperialism and that Europe is facing an existential crisis, I would take be the average American long-term.
    - carlgreene 5mo ago
      I mean it is pretty clear if you look at the data around purchasing power of the median earner (~$44K/yr in US) the US is significantly higher than most EU countries.
    - tick_tock_tick 5mo ago
pasquinelli 5mo ago
it kind of is an accident that ww2 didn't effect the united states but did effect europe and asia rather a lot.
lkramer 5mo ago
As a non-American I agree with this. There is a whole different energy to Americans in terms of mindset compared to Europeans (not just in business). I think Europe have outstanding talent, and when it comes together it can be exceptionally good and often in a more sustainable way than the American equivalent, but it's a somewhat sad fact that many of the most successful European companies have been successful by emulating (parts of) the American culture.
gmerc 5mo ago
You made sickness and dying contribute to GDP, of course you are number one. Keep it.
tenacious_tuna 5mo ago
Number one economy yes, but other measures lag: education, health care outcomes, overall happiness, life expectancy... I suspect that when you bring a competitive attitude into every aspect of life it limits how much you're willing to invest in systems that don't seem to give you an individual advantage. Americans are much more against single payer healthcare, or investing in public transit, or other forms of social support than their peer (or "near-peer", to use the government's preferred term) nations. It almost feels like a comedic extrapolation of the classic sports-team movie arc: Sure, it's possible to create a team that prizes winning above all else, but is winning all that's worthwhile at the end of the day?
wiseowise 5mo ago
And of course it is because competitive mentality and not geography and industrial base that allowed it to not only ride WW1 and WW2 unscathed, but also leap over old European colonial powers that were busy trying to fucking kill each other.