I am a counterexample. I am extremely self-disciplined. I was raised in a Prussian stlye. I was beaten up by my mom and a daily basis for more than a decade as child and teenager. I am a nervous wreck now that will never contribute to society. I am very neurotic so much that it hurts. And it is very counterprodutive and impedes productivity. I might be a shell of a normal human being.
I am now attending college again. And most of my (German) peers seem to be lazy. I might be judgemental. I don't know them. Mental illnesses are spiking. Social media might play a role in that. Maybe self-diagnoses. There might be a point that our generation is more sensitive towards performance pressure. However, I am certainly not in the position to judge. I don't attend as many courses as an average student. However, I am a nursing case (lol), officially disabled and I think noone would go to college with my diverse issues.
But for the courses I attend I am well prepared and I have a lot of knowledge already because I read about politics in freetime all the time. I might impressed my peers and my professors. However, I think I am more or less a fraud because I mostly consume popular science articles. I think most of my readings are superficial.
There is a new world order emerging. Europe will lose power. The US will lose power. I ask myself how shall we compete with more than one billion Chinese that are treated/drilled like dogs in their education system. There is a prohbition for apps like Tiktok which is ironic because it is a Chinese app. Which could be a sign it might be a Trojan horse. Teenagers have limited times for gaming. While teenagers in the West aim for becoming influencers. In China there is strict crackdown on drugs users and drug dealers. While in the US most (hyperbole) superstars are drug-addicts. Of course there are phenomena like Hikkomori in countries like Japan. But can we really compete with that system?
Personally, I don't know. On the surface it looks like we are determined to fall apart. But that might be too early to call. In Europe we have better welfare systems and better health care systems. The latter has clear economic advantages compared to the US. There is less corruption. The former is in my opinion no hindrance to growth. I think the bigger problem compared to the US is the lack of venture capital and our mentality when it comes to high risk decisions/regulation. We are more risk averse. However, it seems like the huge inequality that the US system comes with a high price/societal polarization.
We have one big advantage compared to China. We live in democracies. Sometimes this is an advantage, sometimes a disadvantage. The literature though says overall it has a positive impact on the economy because of the predictability and safety for planning. Something Trump just ruins. Is this enough to compete I don't know.
There are probably way more points to consider but I am running out of time. Thus far my analysis rather sounds pessimisic. In the end I think there are other reasons why the Western world will lose relative power compared to the rest of the world.
I am now attending college again. And most of my (German) peers seem to be lazy. I might be judgemental. I don't know them. Mental illnesses are spiking. Social media might play a role in that. Maybe self-diagnoses. There might be a point that our generation is more sensitive towards performance pressure. However, I am certainly not in the position to judge. I don't attend as many courses as an average student. However, I am a nursing case (lol), officially disabled and I think noone would go to college with my diverse issues.
But for the courses I attend I am well prepared and I have a lot of knowledge already because I read about politics in freetime all the time. I might impressed my peers and my professors. However, I think I am more or less a fraud because I mostly consume popular science articles. I think most of my readings are superficial.
There is a new world order emerging. Europe will lose power. The US will lose power. I ask myself how shall we compete with more than one billion Chinese that are treated/drilled like dogs in their education system. There is a prohbition for apps like Tiktok which is ironic because it is a Chinese app. Which could be a sign it might be a Trojan horse. Teenagers have limited times for gaming. While teenagers in the West aim for becoming influencers. In China there is strict crackdown on drugs users and drug dealers. While in the US most (hyperbole) superstars are drug-addicts. Of course there are phenomena like Hikkomori in countries like Japan. But can we really compete with that system?
Personally, I don't know. On the surface it looks like we are determined to fall apart. But that might be too early to call. In Europe we have better welfare systems and better health care systems. The latter has clear economic advantages compared to the US. There is less corruption. The former is in my opinion no hindrance to growth. I think the bigger problem compared to the US is the lack of venture capital and our mentality when it comes to high risk decisions/regulation. We are more risk averse. However, it seems like the huge inequality that the US system comes with a high price/societal polarization.
We have one big advantage compared to China. We live in democracies. Sometimes this is an advantage, sometimes a disadvantage. The literature though says overall it has a positive impact on the economy because of the predictability and safety for planning. Something Trump just ruins. Is this enough to compete I don't know.
There are probably way more points to consider but I am running out of time. Thus far my analysis rather sounds pessimisic. In the end I think there are other reasons why the Western world will lose relative power compared to the rest of the world.
Last edited:
