COLUMN. To win the cultural and intellectual battle, Europe must staunchly defend its model, writes the economist in his column, dismantling the narrative of a 'declining' continent.
The top 10% of Europeans own roughly 56% to 75% of total wealth (depending on the specific region), while the bottom half of the population holds as little as 2% to 5%.
Most poor countries have a wealth distribution more like Russia than the West.
One illustration is that, despite the massively higher costs and shitty exchange rates on top of that, poor country elites send their kids to the West for university no problem.
Of course, there’s different kinds of EU members. I’m not sure how they all stack up.
If you think that what people living here 500 years ago did is a reason for us to feel bad, then you need therapy. This shows our strength: we think, adapt, and change what is wrong, slowly but surely. This is extraordinary in our world. We have achieved so much and done so many positive things also in the past that what you are saying is insane. I hope you are just rage baiting here…
Neocolonialism actually amounts to a tiny little trickle of wealth. It’s significant if you’re making a dollar a day in a heavily effected region, but it’s like pennies on the Western end.
Overall, the West’s wealth comes from the West’s wealth, and the institutions that wealth has made possible.
If you had read my comment, you would have seen that I never said we had stopped anything.
I said that we made huge progress — you can’t deny it — and did a huge amount of good in the meantime.
Compare us to any other continent or country and not some ideal, imagined perfection. The UAE, China, Russia, the USA…
If you think we’re bad and exploit people, I suppose we should replicate the approach of one of those countries, right? Then we will stop exploitation, wars, everything bad in general and become better people! Is that what you believe?
If you think we’re bad and exploit people, I suppose we should replicate the approach of one of those countries, right? Then we will stop exploitation, wars, everything bad in general and become better people! Is that what you believe?
If your whole argument is “we cant be bad people because look at these even worse people” then I have nothing more to say to you. There will always be someone more stinky than you. Doesn’t mean you’re clean.
This argument applies to you even more. You will never be perfect, not even in case there will be no one better than you.
If you are good and try to be better (which I believe we do) and focus on why you are not perfect and you just complaining the whole day - you:
a) will not improve
b) give even more power to the bad guys
c) you will discourage others from trying to become better, because no one wants to follow a path that leads to eternal dissatisfaction - and that’s what you present
If you believe this sentence
“not even in case there will be no one better than you”
is the same as calling myself the best and that
“Do we try to be better?”
with a few examples of progress is “ignoring glaring structural exploitation” then i have noting more to tell you. Have a nice day!
Europeans should count their blessings and be proud of their continent!
The top 10% of Europeans own roughly 56% to 75% of total wealth (depending on the specific region), while the bottom half of the population holds as little as 2% to 5%.
Aren’t they better stats than most other places?
Most poor countries have a wealth distribution more like Russia than the West.
One illustration is that, despite the massively higher costs and shitty exchange rates on top of that, poor country elites send their kids to the West for university no problem.
Of course, there’s different kinds of EU members. I’m not sure how they all stack up.
You don’t have to be ill to get better
Proud of extorting the whole world for centuries for our wealth? No, thank you
Yeah, maybe skip that part. But I’d say Europe is a very different place now.
If you think that what people living here 500 years ago did is a reason for us to feel bad, then you need therapy. This shows our strength: we think, adapt, and change what is wrong, slowly but surely. This is extraordinary in our world. We have achieved so much and done so many positive things also in the past that what you are saying is insane. I hope you are just rage baiting here…
If you think we have stopped extracting wealth from other countries you are the insane one
Neocolonialism actually amounts to a tiny little trickle of wealth. It’s significant if you’re making a dollar a day in a heavily effected region, but it’s like pennies on the Western end.
Overall, the West’s wealth comes from the West’s wealth, and the institutions that wealth has made possible.
If you had read my comment, you would have seen that I never said we had stopped anything.
I said that we made huge progress — you can’t deny it — and did a huge amount of good in the meantime.
Compare us to any other continent or country and not some ideal, imagined perfection. The UAE, China, Russia, the USA…
If you think we’re bad and exploit people, I suppose we should replicate the approach of one of those countries, right? Then we will stop exploitation, wars, everything bad in general and become better people! Is that what you believe?
If your whole argument is “we cant be bad people because look at these even worse people” then I have nothing more to say to you. There will always be someone more stinky than you. Doesn’t mean you’re clean.
This argument applies to you even more. You will never be perfect, not even in case there will be no one better than you.
If you are good and try to be better (which I believe we do) and focus on why you are not perfect and you just complaining the whole day - you:
a) will not improve
b) give even more power to the bad guys
c) you will discourage others from trying to become better, because no one wants to follow a path that leads to eternal dissatisfaction - and that’s what you present
Do we try to be better?
Hell we do. Others instead do this:
Yeah that’s right, calling yourself the best and ignoring glaring structural exploitation of others will surely lead us to stop doing that
If you believe this sentence “not even in case there will be no one better than you”
is the same as calling myself the best and that “Do we try to be better?”
with a few examples of progress is “ignoring glaring structural exploitation” then i have noting more to tell you. Have a nice day!
As if it stopped lol
https://africasacountry.com/2025/05/green-hydrogen-old-colonialism
Where did I say it stopped? Please, do show me because I can’t find that part
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