5 Things Europe Could Learn From America

Rick Noack, a native of Germany, in The Washington Post offers five things Europeans could learn from America. But he doesn’t seem to fully realize that Europe’s weaknesses are also its strengths.

Be more optimistic and more creative. Perhaps Europeans are less optimistic than Americans because they have such a long history (2000 years! incomprehensible to Americans). In studying their own gloomy history, with two world wars, numerous empire wars and border wars, centuries of religious warfare and competing nationalities, they have good reason to be less optimistic than Americans, who have experienced only one (civil) war on their own soil in nearly 250 years, and a relatively mild war for independence.

Perhaps the reason Europeans are less creative in work is that they endured decades if not centuries of worker abuse “in dark Satanic mills” during the industrial revolution. This led to a very powerful labor movement, which instituted important rules and regulations to protect workers. It’s true that Europeans are less entrepreneurial and more risk-averse than Americans, but they also have fewer bankruptcies and foreclosures per capita than does the United States.

Learn to love the doggy bag. This should be easy and simple enough for Europeans to adopt.

Volunteer more. This also should be easy for Europeans to adopt. Perhaps Americans volunteer more because they attend religious services more and participate in volunteer activities through faith-based institutions.

Use a car to discover more about your continent. Great public transportation and lack of automobiles in Europe might restrict access to undiscovered places, but it’s a continent that’s relatively easy and cheap to get around. You can travel easily and cheaply in Europe without owning a car, something very difficult to do in the U.S.

Embrace multiculturalism. Europe might not invite assimilation, the concepts of strength in diversity or cultural melting pots the way that America does. But the distinct nationalistic character of England, Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, etc. etc. is what makes those places so charming, at least for tourists. Travel a few hours and you find yourself immersed in a totally different language and culture, and a distinctly different history.

Noack also offers five things Americans could learn from Europeans. I give my response here.