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Malte's avatar

Really interesting read, thank you.

I think there are a lot of parallels to my home country, Germany, at least when considering the outcome. The obvious one might be a lingering sense of pride in past glory (no, not that one) - "German engineering", when in reality, public infrastructure is in poor shape, most major new projects are disasters (over time and over budget by multiples), and the trains are apparently even worse than in the UK (at least that's what they say here: https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/you-think-british-trains-are-bad-try-german-ones , though I haven't vetted the source).

I would say that the mentality in Germany is markedly different. There's generally no "stiff upper lip" culture, people complain about politics and politicians a fair bit. Some conservative politicians sometimes make similar statements to the quoted one, and considerable outrage usually ensues. However, and surprisingly, worrying too much about one's own economic situation is somehow unfashionable: recent GDP growth stats paint a pretty bleak picture when comparing Germany to other western nations, but it's almost as if people don't believe in that being an indicator for anything meaningful - after all, we're such a rich country, right?

I've lived in the states for four years. The US is certainly no utopia, more to the contrary in some regards, but there certainly is a very significant difference in mentality in that most people, even those from lower socio-economic backgrounds, have a much stronger belief in being masters of their own fate. It would be a stretch to say that the American Dream is alive and kicking, certainly not for all demographic groups, but I think it by and large remains an important source of fuel for progress for the country overall. In contrast, Germans have pretty much fallen prey to learned helplessness, and maybe this also plays a part in the UK.

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David Foster's avatar

There's an interesting but depressing book: 'English Culture and the Decline of the Industrial Spirit, 1850–1980', by Martin Wiener.

https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/English-Culture-and-the-Decline-of-the-Industrial-Wiener/825298beda27fca5eeb7cbe0a31302877e318e2e

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