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Originally Posted by Ralph Sir Edward
Take a look at the technology changes of the last 50 years. How much of it was invented/designed/initially brought to market by the US?
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Well, have a deep look. Then normalize it "per citizen" and compare it to other nations - no, does not look that well. (Dont get me wrong: US is among the most productive nations - but the difference to e.g. Germany or Japan is not that big (if at all)).
And ... have a second look how many foreign scientists you are buying - and then think about your educational system (I dont believe the German one to be good btw).
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That's because of our inequal system, which allows nobodies to excel, (if they have the will and the ability) in a system that is driven to take the new/creative and make money off of it.
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Yes, that is certainly true - you have a system that allows for Rockefeller or "making money out of sand".
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But (as I've said before), we pay for all of this "creative destruction" with inequality and poverty at the lowest levels. And yes, that's a very real cost.
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Just to re-announce this.
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But on the profit side of the ledger, look at all the technical innovation the world enjoys due to the results of the American system. where's the EU equivalent of "Silicon Valley" that has had the same world impact as the US one?
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Well ... which area was the "driving force behind technology" 100 years ago (using similar social structures) - yes, Western Europe.
And - again - please normalize your values - you should be comparing "US vs the whole of Europe" to be fair, and suddenly it doesnt look so bright.
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And any discusion about the American culture needs to include the good, as well as the bad...
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This I agree with - and I surely dont want to state, that the Western Europe (or German) system is perfect - far from it. Our system is suffering from its bureaucracy, a "stable" (and I mean this in the most negative way possible) society, abstruse taxation, a far-from-perfect educational system, a healthcare that is very good - but (again) uses far too much bureaucracy, a world-wide trend against citizens rights or human freemdom, etc
No, we are not perfect and we both can learn from each other.