"Leviathan state?" You read too many comic books. Or have never progressed beyond the demise of the Iron Curtain. Europe is a diverse cultural entity - far more so than the US. The US is the The Big Boiling Pot - where everyone (from abroad who populated America) was supposed to throw off the mental-clothing that they brought with them. And become One Nation. Europe is not like that at all. It is a rainbow of ethnic colours that finally decided - subsequent to WW2 - that separate nations need a "glue" or they would forever war against one another. As they had done in the past. That cement is the European Union and is it quite a modern economic edifice that has been built that functions well. It's had a false-start, but is over it ... NB: The Brits, with their sense of independence, are taking a break from the all-inclusive "Economics Club". They'll be back in 5/10 years when they realize that "it is better to be inside the tent pissing out, than outside the tent pissing in" (LBJ).
Nonsense, the evolution of the leviathan state was a concern long before the Iron Curtain was raised, and existed on both sides of the curtain. Google "leviathan state". Then, since you are into economics, tell me what the total debt of the US is at the moment.
War is never funny. USA got around 600 000 death during civil war, it's a lot, but not that much compared to the 5 million death caused by the napoleonic wars. Country like France got 1,3 millions soldiers death during WW1 (a little bit less than USA during his whole history and this country was already 6 time less populated than USA), Germany 2 millions during WW1 and some countries got even more death during WW2 (if I remember well, Germany lost around 8 million people). War damaged most more Europe than USA. War is a cost. Europe have many problems, I don't think "leviathan state" is always the problem. Europe is today 700 millions inhabitant for a superficy of 10 millions square kilometers with more than fourties languages. I'm speaking of the geographic Europe, not the european union. So it's from the west of Ural mountains to Spain, without considering by the way Turkey. USA have around 320 millions inhabitant for a superficy of a little bit less than 10 millions square kilometers, english is the de facto language of USA. Their is few language division, even if their is some zones where some people don't speak english. English is the world language today. It's a big advantage. History : the last war on the territory of USA was the civil war of 1861-1865. I may forget some, but I think we can consider the one as minor. For WW2, if some american Island were under attack, the mainland of USA stayed safe. The result of those wars were 600 000 death. Europe knew a lot of wars during the 20th century. The result of those war were dozen of millions of death and billions of dollars of material damage. It put many country deeply in debt too. Furthermore the eastern part was under the dictatorship of USSR until the recent 1990. The former sovietic part are still totally under developed. I think that the USA have many advantages who are independant of the way you gouvern your country : a history of peace on your own territory, an unified territory from the administrative point of view (despite the huge differences between the states), you speak the world language. Some advantages tend to re inforce themselves : the richer you are => the more you attract brillant mind of the world => the more you create richness. Ironically, the USA benefit a lot of the "leviathan" state of around the world, people of around the world come to your country, with an excellent schooling and without debts. Those young people who have no debts can more easily create companies. People with debt are more often sentenced to stay employed because it's a better way to pay back your debts. Countries with leviathan state like Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Austria are rather sucessfull countries. However some countries with high taxes policy are in trouble (Italy, Belgium, France). Too much taxes may make the economy suffocate but it's not always the case. I don't think their is a golden rules about how state can be dealt. It highly depend of the geography, the culture of people, and other political problems (corruption).
I've never heard or seen it mentioned except by the young, who are giddy and "want to see the world". Most come back. Europe is a damn fine place, quite unlike the US where all that matter is profit, profit, profit and "how much moulah ya got". Europe has a rich history and a plethora of beautiful things to see (not the least of which are its women!) - and the Yanks I see are paying good money to enjoy it. America is too young to compete in that category. I know of at least 5 French cooks (of average-to-good capacity) who've left for the US and are making a fortune there in a restaurant. I also know 3 who did that and came back, because they "missed France". I'm not even sure one can call it "food" in America, because in France and Italy it is called "cuisine". Highly sophisticated and of excellent produce nowadays as bio-foods have taken hold. I cannot understand anyone, except someone who has lost it all due to strife, who would want to succumb to the American Way-of-life - unless they grew up never knowing another. We are about 150/200K Yanks in France* who aren't going home, and supposedly about 8 million around the world. Obviously, nobody misses us either ... *I met one Yank some years ago who is a WW2 Vet. He landed in the south of France and fought all the way up to the collapse of the Nazis. He went back to the US, and within a year was back in France. Where he married and had five kids. His remembrance of America is of a time that no longer exists - and he wants none of what has come in its place. *Lafayette came back, though he was deeply attached to George Washington, for whom he was the son that Washington never had. There are only two places in France where the American flag flies day and night. One is the American Embassy and the other is Lafayette's tomb.
I quite agree, but let's be careful about comparing apples with oranges just because both are fruit. If the EU had the independence of states that the US has, it would look and behave remarkably like the EU. The EU is very different than the US in two basic ways: *The EU was conceived based upon the US model, but avoided the Executive. So, European states still have a significant say about what happens internal to their countries. *However, getting anything done "cross-Europe" is a nightmare because of the complex process a common agreement entails. *Thankfully, the EU does not have an Executive (though it has a Legislature and a Judiciary). But, neither does it have another American convention called Gerrymandering, or the Electoral College. And given the manner in which both have warped America's democracy, I'll bet it never ever adopts either. *The EU does not have a DoD that eats 54% of its "national budget", so with its higher-taxation it can spend a lot of money supporting National Healthcare Systems as well a no- or low-cost Tertiary Education. Let's give Europe another chance when it comes to hiring well-educated and trained specialists. I sold Information Systems all over Europe and I know full well that hi-tech competence is of the same if not higher quality as the US. What is lacking is a uniform Demand. That is, when the Legislature decides, along with the Executive, in the US to Spend, Spend, Spend the impact upon employment is immediate. The EU does not have that "job-creation mechanism" (yet). I know plenty of Europeans who've come back, because they think life is better here ...
As the bureaucratic leviathan expands the will and ability of the constricted human beings to reproduce themselves and their culture is destroyed. The state, which is a necessary evil, is an inherently nihilist institution. The US Civil war killed millions. Food production in much of the South was utterly destroyed. What factors do you think were primarily responsible for the incredibly destructive WW I?
Madness of the old continent, the european civilization both at its apogee and on the verge of collapse. About the millions, I would like sources please. From what I red, it was 600 000 death, it's still a lot.
600,000 battle deaths. Sheridan and Sherman destroyed much of the food stores and food production in the South. Starvation and hardship kills civilians.
Unfortunately, it was common at that time. Napoleonic wars, 1870 wars, 1914 made huge starvation and epidemic. I don't want to lower the hardship some american lived at that time, I'm just saying that this part of the world was relatively at peace compared to the butchery in Europe.
From here - excerpt: Taken as a percentage of today's population, you are correct. But not back then. Still, what an effing waste of humanity. And for what - to keep an economy running on slave-labor?!? And are we any different today? Given the 14% of our population men, women and children living below the Poverty Threshold where statistics find that the majority do not work*. *Yeah, right, because they're all a bunch of lazy-basterds ...
I am sure the civilian casualties associated with the Napoleonic wars were horrific. No one was really counting until the 20th century.
The creation and domination of a dependent underclass is the enduring hallmark of the DP. Without slaves the party had to create millions of idle dependent unskilled illiterates to remain politically viable.
And so? What is EXACTLY that you are trying to say? The Romans killed/enslaved more humans than all of the past history since by mankind. And so what?!?
Not if you were an Indian or an enslaved black. England had freed its slaves in 1833, three decades before the Civil War. Let's not get started in a "Thou worse than I" exchange - it goes nowhere ...
Is that supposed to contradict something from my post? I was agreeing with Votre. The Napoleonic wars were way bad.
They are hard to count, between the revolution and the napoleonic wars. I'm the one who started this. I was trying to say that the USA had many advantages in their History and still today who explain their success, without considering how the USA are managed. I don't say the way USA were manage didn't impact, I'm just saying USA have huge other advantages.
America's great advantage was its vast unsettled wilderness. Europe's great advantage was its settled infrastructure, much of it put in place by the Romans and expanded ever since.
