Bit like Japan I suppose. Both regions have relatively low wealth inequality in contrast to other countries. Both have publicly accessible welfare systems. Both look for steady economic growth than getting high on raging steroidal economic growth that the US is obsessed with. Both have pretty good rule of law and human rights. Depending on where you are in the EU, some member states have a comparable toxic work culture as Japan. Both also whine about immigration despite the declining population.
I semi-joke about the latter but countries less obsessed with steroidal capitalist growth have a better quality of life. We may not have tech giants like Amazon and Facebook, but at least we don’t have tech bros buying out politicians to dictate policies.
Yeah we gotta stop those fuckers. It’s not the EU per se IMO but a group pushing that crap again and again. Hopefully it’ll end with some personal souverain data law or something blocking things like that for good.
A lot of manufacturing is still actually done in the EU, unlike the USA. I can buy all basics for example (clothes, food, kitchenware, cleaning supplies, shoes, etc) in Finland also made in Finland.
You could definitely buy a lot European, though I know from my line of work (sustainability consultant for (mostly retail) companies), that a lot of supply chains run to China.
My state already engages in brutal necessary resource extraction from our neighbors, while selling their own resources back to them for much more than we pay or “invest,” domestically and abroad, like the rest of the global West. Just because some residents get more where they reside doesn’t mean those states aren’t directly and indirectly engaged in the same practices.
I thought the topic here was quality of life, not economic output. And there’s simply no comparison to be made. Westerners like to fantasize about Japan being very cultured and civilized, unlike us barbarians. However, reality couldn’t be further from the truth.
No hate towards Japanese people, but the country itself is pretty much a dystopia, close to South Korea. Japanese society is filled to the brim with erotic and pornographic content, to the point where reading/watching hentai is sometimes considered a regular hobby.
They study more, work more and have less free time. “* Full-time workers in Japan typically work 44.9 hours each week.” (Source: https://electroiq.com/stats/japans-workforce-statistics/). This is considerably more than all of Europe.
Recommend watching this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUJaRHQhec8. I wouldn’t call it amazing, but does a good enough job of highlighting some of Japan’s pressing issues, most of which are unheard of in the EU.
Yes, go on, tell me how much of an expert you are, even though you neither speak the language and nor experienced life in Japan.
I lived in both western Europe and Japan, multiple cities. Life is great in both places. You highlighted few metrics that Japan is worse in. Can you do the same with western Europe? Otherwise, you sound ridiculously biased and delusional as the Internet expert.
Bit like Japan I suppose. Both regions have relatively low wealth inequality in contrast to other countries. Both have publicly accessible welfare systems. Both look for steady economic growth than getting high on raging steroidal economic growth that the US is obsessed with. Both have pretty good rule of law and human rights. Depending on where you are in the EU, some member states have a comparable toxic work culture as Japan. Both also whine about immigration despite the declining population.
I semi-joke about the latter but countries less obsessed with steroidal capitalist growth have a better quality of life. We may not have tech giants like Amazon and Facebook, but at least we don’t have tech bros buying out politicians to dictate policies.
The eu is continually trying to find ways around encryption.
Not arguing with your main points but that is a huge L
Yeah we gotta stop those fuckers. It’s not the EU per se IMO but a group pushing that crap again and again. Hopefully it’ll end with some personal souverain data law or something blocking things like that for good.
last time i bothered looking into, literally every EU anti-privacy initiative had links to either Putin or Thiel (or one of his puppets)
Fortunately for now people seem to show again and again that they don’t want this crap.
Yeah we’ve gotta stay vigilant with encryption and other infringements on our rights and freedom.
Tech firms that sell AI tools for content scanning (e.g., Thorn) are deeply involved in lobbying for these chat control policies.
I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s driven largely by big tech.
USA: Ha ha you don’t have a facebook!
EU: Oh no. Anyways…
We have tech bros buying out US politicians who can dictate us what to do, as the EU is totally reliant, economically and militarily, on the US.
As I asked in the other thread, also: who pays the price for this quality of life?
Depending where you shop, no one really.
A lot of manufacturing is still actually done in the EU, unlike the USA. I can buy all basics for example (clothes, food, kitchenware, cleaning supplies, shoes, etc) in Finland also made in Finland.
You could definitely buy a lot European, though I know from my line of work (sustainability consultant for (mostly retail) companies), that a lot of supply chains run to China.
The raw materials? The damage to the body from working those jobs? I’m sorry it’s just not realistic.
Our own Trump, Musk etc.
We don’t have them (yet).
Our global South and Asian neighbors? Migrant workers? Our impoverished working class?
Jealous 😛😊? You shouldn’t be, copy us instead.
My state already engages in brutal necessary resource extraction from our neighbors, while selling their own resources back to them for much more than we pay or “invest,” domestically and abroad, like the rest of the global West. Just because some residents get more where they reside doesn’t mean those states aren’t directly and indirectly engaged in the same practices.
As a European, I find a comparison to Japan a bit offensive. Have we fallen that low?
Yes, Japan, economy that almost surpassed US, has fallen that low to be compared to western Europe. 🙄
I thought the topic here was quality of life, not economic output. And there’s simply no comparison to be made. Westerners like to fantasize about Japan being very cultured and civilized, unlike us barbarians. However, reality couldn’t be further from the truth.
No hate towards Japanese people, but the country itself is pretty much a dystopia, close to South Korea. Japanese society is filled to the brim with erotic and pornographic content, to the point where reading/watching hentai is sometimes considered a regular hobby.
They study more, work more and have less free time. “* Full-time workers in Japan typically work 44.9 hours each week.” (Source: https://electroiq.com/stats/japans-workforce-statistics/). This is considerably more than all of Europe.
This, and more, contributes to extremely high suicide rates among young people, breaking records every year (Source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20251027/p2a/00m/0na/005000c).
Recommend watching this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUJaRHQhec8. I wouldn’t call it amazing, but does a good enough job of highlighting some of Japan’s pressing issues, most of which are unheard of in the EU.
Yes, go on, tell me how much of an expert you are, even though you neither speak the language and nor experienced life in Japan.
I lived in both western Europe and Japan, multiple cities. Life is great in both places. You highlighted few metrics that Japan is worse in. Can you do the same with western Europe? Otherwise, you sound ridiculously biased and delusional as the Internet expert.
That’s an absolute dream for a lot of workers, inside and outside the global West.