Friday, August 16, 2019
Europe vs. the United States of America Essay
Executive summary            The time of the masses when individuals were forced to all think alike has long set. The contemporary period makes significant efforts to encourage individuality and diversity of opinions among society members. This generally leads to major differences in lifestyle, regarding basically all moments of live from the act of being born up until the death. Currently, these differences are most obvious between the countries of the Middle East, which promote a rather delicate human rights policy, and the rest of the globe that has strict rules regarding civil rights.            However the differences between the countries of the Middle East and the rest of the world seem to be most relevant at the time, there are also numerous elements that generate diversity between countries that promote similar civil rights as well as similar social, political and economic policies. A relevant example of such differences is obvious in the relationship between two great contemporary powers: the United States of America and Europe represented by the European Union.            The last decades have supported the U.S. as the irrefutable global leader in economics, finance, politics and military equipments and capabilities. However, history teaches us that Europe is not to be neglected. The old continent has always been able to rise above its enemies and, today, some specialists believe that it might be just a matter of time until Europe regains supremacy. â€Å"It is too soon to tell whether Washington and Brussels will head down the same road Rome and Constantinople – toward geopolitical rivalry – but the warning signs are certainly present.†[1] Economic differences            The are numerous features of the economy that differentiate Europe from the United States, the most relevant of which being the historical factor, the status of their currencies, the citizens’ life styles determined by the levels of productivity, the unemployment rate, the formation and supported growth of the European Union or the administration of small and medium-size companies. The historical factor            The historical factor basically refers to the two world wars Europe was involved in and which brought about dramatic consequences upon the society as a whole and its individuals. Economically destroyed after the First World War, Europe sought aid from the United States, which soon became their main creditor in all domains from education and medical care system to politics.            In the years 1920 the world’s economy registered impressive growths in both Europe and the United States. Such impressive was the growth that it boasted up all economic activities and drove manufacturers towards overproduction. The overproducing of goods and services, combined with the already existent shortages generated the crash of the New York Stock Market. This led the United States, and automatically its debtors, into the great economic crisis of 1929–1933, known as the Great Depression. While recovering from the depression, the American countries focused most of their finances onto supporting their own economy, leaving the European countries without their main creditor. The currencies            Highly relevant to the economic sectors of U.S. and Europe are their currencies. Up until January 1999, when the EURO was introduced, the U.S. dollar was the second strongest currency of the world (following the GBP, Great Britain Pound). Today, the American dollar is only the third strongest currency in the world, being preceded by GBP and EURO. However the strength of the U.S. currency has decreased, the USD continues to remain the safest currency. Proof of this stand the statistics of the International Monetary Fund. The statistics reveal that from 1999 to 2006, the accumulation of USD has only decreased from 70.9% to 65.7%,[2] the currency still detaining majority. Productivity            Another significant difference that balances power towards the United States focuses on the industrial and production sectors. However there are several countries in Europe that register increased levels of life standard, the overall European standard of living is inferior to the U.S. For instance, â€Å"productivity in the three big European countries, Germany, France and Italy, stopped catching up with the United States’ productivity in the early ‘90s, and then lost ground in the recent slowdowns and the U.S. speed-up.†[3] Unemployment            A direct consequence of the decreased productivity rate is the increased number of unemployed citizens in the European countries, compared to a rather stable and controlled unemployment rate in the U.S. Besides productivity, Edmund Phelps believes that responsible for the large unemployment rate is the demographic factor. As such, the continuous increase in the European birth rate generates an overpopulation of the continent, an overpopulation that Europe is unprepared to support and hire. The European Union            The European Union was established in the year 1992 and its main objective is to improve the general features of the continent in order to make it highly competitive on the international market, and reach a high level of economical, financial and political development.            However up until today Europe is still inferior to the United States, the European Union has contributed significantly to the strengthening of Europe’s international position. â€Å"The United States already feels pressured by the euro and the growing strength of Europe’s economy and its top corporations. The EU’s geopolitical ambition is still limited, but there are clear signs of wind in the sails.†[4]            A highly relevant example of the European strengthening position is statistically represented by the financial reports on American and European investments. More and more iconic symbols of the American economy and life style have been auctioned and bought by European investors. For instance, â€Å"among dozens of emblematically American companies and products now owned by Europeans are Brooks Brothers, DKNY, Random House, Kent Cigarettes, Dove Soap, Chrysler, Bird’s Eye, Pennzoil, Baskin-Robbins, and the Los Angeles Dodgers.†[5] Small and medium-size companies            The same study points out that Europe is better qualified in their activity of administrating and financing their local businesses. Properly handling the small and medium-size companies is a factor of economic growth as these companies can easily become highly competitive, contribute to the economic growth of the continent or hosting area and generate available jobs. â€Å"65 percent of European jobs in 2002 were in small and medium-sized firms, compared with just 46 percent in the U.S.†[6]            Characteristic to both small and medium size companies, as well as to large corporations is the human resource policy. Europe offers better services for its employees that the U.S. For instance, on giving birth, European female workers are a granted forty-six weeks maternity leave paid with two thirds of their salary (Sweden) or three months of maternity leave and full salary (Portugal), whereas the â€Å"U.S. federal government guarantees nothing.†[7] Social differences            However besides the previously presented issues there are numerous other relevant economic features that differentiate Europe from the United States of America, one has to also consider the social differences. Upon research numerous elements catch the attention, such as the cultural differences that derive from the diverse points of view on religion, education system or crime rate. Crime rate            The criminality rate adherent to Europe and U.S. is approached in most cultural analysis studies and the conclusions are basically the same: America allows far more criminal actions than the continent. â€Å"What really strikes an old European in looking at the American way of life is the toleration of brutality†[8] says European Felix Voirol. The unbiased opinion of American Tony Judt from the New York Times states: â€Å"Yes, Americans put up huge billboards reading ‘Love Thy Neighbor,’ but they murder and rape their neighbors at rates that would shock any European nation.†[9] Migration of population and work force            America was globally perceived as the land of all opportunities, a land that makes dreams come true, that respects and protects individuals and with employers that pay them fair salaries. This was the motivation of millions of Europeans who fled their countries in search of a better life provided by the American land. However, the current situation has changed in the meaning that Europe has improved their general standards of living and has accordingly increased salaries, limiting the number of migrates to the U.S. Religious differences            The predominant religious culture promoted by the Americans is Puritanism. The main controversy regarding Puritanism is the fact that the Puritan doctrine preaches the purity of both the soul and the body, but the American society seems to pay more attention to the body cleanliness, in the meaning of virginity that that of the soul’s. â€Å"A naked human body is â€Å"indecent†and, taken as dangerous for minors, simply censored. In contrast there are countless scenes showing people knocking themselves out, dropping to the ground bathed in blood or taking each other’s lives in ever more brutal way†[10], a state of facts that Europeans don’t understand.            However, what is even more different in the religion of the U.S. when compared to the religion of Europe is the limited intervention the Church has upon the government. Religious freedom is more obvious in the U.S. that in Europe, continent almost entirely Christian. Shel Horowitz, editor at the Global Travel Review states: â€Å"The absence of state-sanctioned religion makes a huge difference to the cultural minorities in the U.S. As a Jew, I’m not at all sure I’d be comfortable living in a country where Christianity or Islam was completely intertwined with the government.†[11] Conclusions            Along the years, renowned thinkers such as Adam Smith or Emanuel Kant have promoted the belief that national and international differences reside in culture and personal views of morality. The thinkers of today state that international differences reside in the diverse implementation of economical and political policies. This multitude of opinions reveals the fact that in order to best analyze the similarities and differences between countries, one needs to focus on both social as well as economical features.            In other words, a nation is a mixture of individuals with different backgrounds, opinions and capabilities. These individuals form up groups in accordance with their interests and the totality of these groups forms a country. To better understand the overall features of a country, as well as what are the elements that differentiate it from other nations, the researcher needs to clearly analyze the characteristics of all the groups that form the country. The analysis has to be developed from all possible points of view, including economy, politics, culture, technology or finance. Bibliography: Edmund S. Phelps, July 2006, Economic Culture and Economic Performance: What Light is Shed on the Continent’s Problem, Venice Summer Institute, Venice International University, San Servolo, 27 pages Kupchan, Charles, November 11, 2003, The End Of The American Era, First edition, Vintage Publisher, 416 pages The International Monetary Fund, 2006, Currency Composition of Official Foreign Exchange Reserves (COFER            http://www.imf.org/external/np/sta/cofer/eng/cofer.pdf, last accessed on March 16, 2007 Tony Judt, February 10, 2005, Europe vs. America, The New York Review of Books, Volume 52, Number 2, New York City, http://www.nybooks.com/articles/17726, last accessed on March 16, 2007 Felix Voirol, Old World vs. the New World, In defense of the â€Å"European quality of Life†, No. 7, http://www.taboo-breaker.org/lifestyle/america.htm, last accessed on March 16, 2007 Shel Horowitz, Europe vs. the U.S., Global Travel Review,            http://www.frugalfun.com/europe-us.html, last accessed on March 16, 2007 Jim Blair, Guns and Pizza: The USA vs. Europe, Big Issue Ground,      http://www.bigissueground.com/politics/blair-gunspizzausaeurope.shtml, last accessed on         March 16, 2007 Timothy Garton Ash, December 22, 2002, United States of Europe vs. United States of America, Boston University Press,      http://www.buworldofideas.org/shows/2002/12/20021229.asp, last accessed on March   16, 2007 Open Source Usage: Europe vs. the USA, January 13, 2007, Info World,      http://weblog.infoworld.com/openresource/archives/2007/01/open_source_usa.html, last      accessed on March 16, 2007 George Irvin, January 16, 2007, Europe vs. USA: Whose Economy Wins?, The New Federal List, http://www.taurillon.org/Europe-vs-USA-Whose-Economy-Wins, last accessed on March 16, 2007 Simon Gordon, March 13, 2003, SAN adoption in Europe vs. United States, Search Storage, http://searchstorage.techtarget.com/tip/0,289483,sid5_gci885852,00.html, last accessed on March 16, 2007 Howard LaFranchi, March 18, 2004, US vs. Europe: two views of terror, The Christian Science Monitor, http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0318/p01s01-usfp.html, last accessed on March 16, 2007 V.A. Gijsbers, Atheism In Europe vs. U.S.; Values; Truth; Sects, Positive Atheism,      http://www.positiveatheism.org/mail/eml9745.htm, last accessed on March 16, 2007 Europe vs. US, the challenge, Tourist Blog,      http://blog.touristr.com/articles/2007/02/06/europe-vs-us-the-challenge, last accessed on           March 16, 2007 Matt Asay, January 13, 2007, Open Source: Europe vs. USA, Asay Blog      http://asay.blogspot.com/2007/01/open-source-europe-vs-usa.html, last accessed on March 16, 2007 [1] Kupchan, Charles, November 11, 2003, The End Of The American Era, First edition, Vintage Publisher, 416 pages [2] The International Monetary Fund, 2006, Currency Composition of Official Foreign Exchange Reserves (COFER) [3] Edmund S. Phelps, July 2006, Economic Culture and Economic Performance: What Light is Shed on the Continent’s Problem, Venice Summer Institute, Venice International University, San Servolo, 27 pages [4] Kupchan, Charles, November 11, 2003, The End Of The American Era, First edition, Vintage Publisher, 416 pages [5] Tony Judt, February 10, 2005, Europe vs. America, The New York Review of Books, Volume 52, Number 2, New York City [6] Ibid. [7] Ibid. [8] Felix Voirol, Old World vs. the New World, In defense of the â€Å"European quality of Life†, No. 7 [9] Tony Judt, February 10, 2005, Europe vs. America, The New York Review of Books, Volume 52, No 2, New York [10] Felix Voirol, Old World vs. the New World, In defense of the â€Å"European quality of Life†, No. 7 [11] Shel Horowitz, Europe vs. the U.S., Global Travel Review
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