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Why is the US so much more "successful" than other countries?

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avaya said:
You live in a country that is abundant in natural resources. On a continent that is protected by two ocean's from the great powers of their day. Coupled with WWII and the bleed of a large proportion of Europe's best minds and thinkers to the US. Well there you have it.

Your entire space program for instance came from the same German team who created the V2. The Saturn V is Werner von Braun's rocket.

WII was the game changer. Western Europe was razed to the ground. When did that ever happen in America?

It is not surprising. What would have been surprising is if you didn't succeed.
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Pretty much this.
 
cartoon_soldier said:
Welcome our new overlords, China.
Click to expand...

Kinda looking forward to it to get rid of all the negative attention. China is going to completely dwarf us in looking bad. I hope I'm still alive when the same type of people hating on the US for practically everything are crying for the US military to save them from China.
 
Cereal KiIIer said:
GDP per capita

Code: 
Rank      ↓Country  ↓     US$  ↓
1 	 Luxembourg 	113,044
2 	 Norway 	94,387
3 	 Qatar 	        93,204
4 	 Switzerland 	68,433
5 	 Denmark 	62,097
6 	 Ireland 	60,510
7 	 United Arab Emirates 	55,028
8 	 Iceland 	53,058
9 	 Netherlands 	52,500
10 	 Sweden 	52,181
11 	 Finland 	51,588
12 	 Austria 	50,039
13 	 United States 	47,440
Click to expand...

Let's see that with countries of a population greater than...17 million, ok?

Luxembourg: 0.5 M
Norway: 4 M
Qatar: 1.2 M
Switzerland: 7.6 M
Denmark: 5.5 M
Ireland: 4.5 M
UAE: 4.4 M
Iceland: 0.3 M
Netherlands: 16.4 M
Sweden: 9.2 M
Finland: 5.3 M
Austria: 8.3 M
United States: 300 M

For perspective, New York City's metropolitan population is 18 Million people, bigger than every country on that list except for one. If you're wondering why this is important, a decent education (maybe in your country of choice?) would teach you that when you take a fraction and make the number on bottom bigger, the result gets smaller! Weird stuff, I know.
 
Cereal KiIIer said:
I'm moving there for 2 weeks every winter (you know... because my country really put emphasis on the word liberty and let me travel wherever i want, but my life expectancy is still beter than Cuba and the USA where I am.
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Then you are much better off than Cubans, who can't freely travel anywhere.
 
rjfs said:
OP how are you defining 'best'? We think we are the best, but so do most other places I have been. We have the strongest military, and our currency is the international standard, beyond that I'm struggling to find ways we are 'best'.
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To be fair, our culture is also the most expansive. American movies, TV shows, and music are unrivaled in reach. English is the world's second language...well, that was a mix of the British Empire, and American influence. We call half! Our technology is unrivaled, as our the amount of top flight universities (more influence from WWII), which just helps out our tech advantage.

As much as we disparage the US on NeoGAF, to call it a shitty country without merit or not recognizing its influence on the world would be folly.
 
rjfs said:
OP how are you defining 'best'? We think we are the best, but so do most other places I have been. We have the strongest military, and our currency is the international standard, beyond that I'm struggling to find ways we are 'best'.
Click to expand...
Hey I'm a proud Canadian who would love to agree with that sentiment.. But the fact remains: the US is the world's only superpower, and has enjoyed the most dominant position of any country in the world's history during the past 65 years. Sure there have been empires before.. But America maintained control of the world without actually annexing colonies. They just let their military promise and international corporations do the ruling.

Now sure, maybe there's poverty, no healthcare, etc. But that's because a lot of US power is invested in the military and in the hands of corporations who continue to essentially rule the world. I don't think the US owns in terms of citizen's quality of life... But in terms of world dominating power, it's still all America baby.
 
ConfusingJazz said:
English is the world's second language...well, that was a mix of the British Empire, and American influence.
Click to expand...

By mix you mean 90% British Empire and 10% American influence.
 
avaya said:
Right, another example of how evolution is not taught properly in American schools.
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pretty sure he was joking, but then again you never know when it comes to the patriotism and ignorance of SOME americans, just some,
 
_dementia said:
of course they do

they're probably just not compulsory
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You mean before College they're not even forced to learn the history of their country?
I mean it's not even long, it could be done in 2 weeks tops
 
Mael said:
You mean before College they're not even forced to learn the history of their country?
I mean it's not even long, it could be done in 2 weeks tops
Click to expand...

Yes, of course we have history classes. All of it does definitely have a "US is the best" slant to it though.
 
I love these threads. Have alot of people talking out their ass and a 1 or 2 people who might have a firm grasp of the underlying concepts.
 
Teh Hamburglar said:
I love these threads. Have alot of people talking out their ass and a 1 or 2 people who might have a firm grasp of the underlying concepts.
Click to expand...
Please enlighten the people, oh sacred one.


FYI, I love America been to all 50 states but there's nothing more embarrassing than a "America is the greatest country in the WORLD!!!1" zeitgeist.
 
BocoDragon said:
Hey I'm a proud Canadian who would love to agree with that sentiment.. But the fact remains: the US is the world's only superpower, and has enjoyed the most dominant position of any country in the world's history during the past 65 years. Sure there have been empires before.. But America maintained control of the world without actually annexing colonies. They just let their military promise and international corporations do the ruling.

Now sure, maybe there's poverty, no healthcare, etc. But that's because a lot of US power is invested in the military and in the hands of corporations who continue to essentially rule the world. I don't think the US owns in terms of citizen's quality of life... But in terms of world dominating power, it's still all America baby.
Click to expand...

Very well put, I can't disagree with anything you said. I was looking at it more from a citizens perspective, but looking at it strictly as comparing countries no one else even approaches America'a influence.
 
Teh Hamburglar said:
I love these threads. Have alot of people talking out their ass and a 1 or 2 people who might have a firm grasp of the underlying concepts.
Click to expand...

I like the basic inability to differentiate between the relative importance of GDP of Luxembourg vs. the GDP of the United States.
 
avaya said:
By mix you mean 90% British Empire and 10% American influence.
Click to expand...
I dunno about that... We can thank the British Empire for English use in former colonies.. India, Hong Kong, America and the commonwealth..

But in terms of how most nations of the world teach English now as their second language... I think that all came about during the modern era of globalization. Most countries adopted this recently, with the vision of a mainstream outside world they wanted a part of, dominated by American corpotations and international products like Hollywood.

It's kind of hard to separate though, admittedly. Thanks to the British, English became spoken in a great many countries around the globe... But I'd say it was during the American century that non-English colonies started to adopt English as their ticket to the outside world.
 
Mael said:
You mean before College they're not even forced to learn the history of their country?
I mean it's not even long, it could be done in 2 weeks tops
Click to expand...


Um yes we learn our history, stop being such an ass. If anything I would say we're not taught enough geography and world history, not our own.
 
daw840 said:
Yes, of course we have history classes. All of it does definitely have a "US is the best" slant to it though.
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Nah, this is not a US only thing. Most countries tend to slant their history lessons to favour them. The German's are a real exception to that rule. In the UK the Boer War is hardly mentioned, OK it was one of a million conlficts the country was involved in over 2000 years but it was unique in the fact that the British army ran some of the first concentration camps.
 
GREED


plain and simple. This country was founded on the backs of hard working immigrants and those like Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, Carnegie (sp?)
 
Teh Hamburglar said:
I love these threads. Have alot of people talking out their ass and a 1 or 2 people who might have a firm grasp of the underlying concepts.
Click to expand...

I don't know about you, but I came specifically to talk out of my ass.
 
speculawyer said:
The USA has been in decline (on a relative basis) for a while now.
Click to expand...

Despite all the problems the US currently faces, I don't think this is the case.
Not only do we still live in a unipolar world (at least for now), but it could be argued that not only is the US the world's sole superpower, it may still be a hyperpower.
 
PantherLotus said:
For perspective, New York City's metropolitan population is 18 Million people, bigger than every country on that list except for one. If you're wondering why this is important, a decent education (maybe in your country of choice?) would teach you that when you take a fraction and make the number on bottom bigger, the result gets smaller! Weird stuff, I know.
Click to expand...

Uh, I think the problem isn't as much the population but rather the fact that GDP isn't exacly something that measure standard of living but certain economic factors.
 
Well you see what we did was enslave a bunch of people to build our country for us. It was a pretty good system, not sure why we stopped.
 
daw840 said:
What did we do right?

The US is far younger than all the other countries in the world, yet we are the most powerful, the richest (for now at least), and everyone looks to us regarding global issues. What the hell man? I know a LOT of posters on this forum like to trash the US at every chance they get, but c'mon now how did the US come out on top while being so young in the scheme of things? Was it just luck? I know we have our problems, every country does, but we are far and away the best country in the world(in most categories) and I want to know WHY.
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And what categories are those? :P
 
PantherLotus said:
Let's see that with countries of a population greater than...17 million, ok?

Luxembourg: 0.5 M
Norway: 4 M
Qatar: 1.2 M
Switzerland: 7.6 M
Denmark: 5.5 M
Ireland: 4.5 M
UAE: 4.4 M
Iceland: 0.3 M
Netherlands: 16.4 M
Sweden: 9.2 M
Finland: 5.3 M
Austria: 8.3 M
United States: 300 M

For perspective, New York City's metropolitan population is 18 Million people, bigger than every country on that list except for one. If you're wondering why this is important, a decent education (maybe in your country of choice?) would teach you that when you take a fraction and make the number on bottom bigger, the result gets smaller! Weird stuff, I know.
Click to expand...
So what? The list shows the countries that have a higher GDP than the US which usually correlates with a higher standard of living. Many would consider a higher standard of living to equate with being more succesful. I don't see what's so hard to understand about that.
 
America was peaking in the 50s, 60s. It's been downhill ever since. If you look at average income, poverty, health, etc., America is not doing so hot. America is dominant in some respect merely because of sheer size.
 
PantherLotus said:
I like the basic inability to differentiate between the relative importance of GDP of Luxembourg vs. the GDP of the United States.
Click to expand...

I prefer being a citizen of a smaller but still prosperous country. We don't have to devote large amounts of resources to propping up informal empire. I'd imagine the average Luxemburger likes their present situation.

(Is not from Luxembourg).


To answer the original question. WW1 and WW2 changed the game. Britain lost much of it's economic strength following WW1, WW2 finished it off. Combine that with the devastation of Germany and the relative backwardness of Russia/U.S.S.R and China. Nobody else is around who is capable/willing to wield the same global power that American does.

I'm not bashing America by any means. Obviously America has more influence and power than any other country by a long way. It's the most important single country out there, but being a prosperous little guy can be quite nice.
 
ConfusingJazz said:
World War 2, population, and geography.
Click to expand...
First reply nailed it. Really nailed it. Without the destruction of Europe in WW2, the US would be much less dominant now.

Europe, you made a huge mistake.
 
Wickerbasket said:
So what? The list shows the countries have a higher GDP than the US which usually correlates with a higher standard of living. Many would consider a higher standard of living to equate with being more succesful. I don't see what's so hard to understand about that.
Click to expand...

Whatever practices are in place in those areas, might not work on a much larger scale. Or at least, I think that's what he's saying.

Septy said:
I prefer being a citizen of a smaller but still prosperous country. We don't have to devote large amounts of resources to propping up informal empire. I'd imagine the average Luxemburger likes their present situation.
Click to expand...

^ I would probably like it too. :jealous
 
BocoDragon said:
I dunno about that... We can thank the British Empire for English use in former colonies.. India, Hong Kong, America and the commonwealth..

But in terms of how most nations of the world teach English now as their second language... I think that all came about during the modern era of globalization. Most countries adopted this recently, with the vision of a mainstream outside world they wanted a part of, dominated by American corpotations and international products like Hollywood.

It's kind of hard to separate though, admittedly. Thanks to the British, English became spoken in a great many countries around the globe... But I'd say it was during the American century that non-English colonies started to adopt English as their ticket to the outside world.
Click to expand...

Training in English as part of globalisation is a secondary effect. The key was establishing English as the language of business.

Alll roads to the establishment of English in that respect comeback to the British Empire, it was something like 3/4's of the world at some point. An Empire that was built around one thing: trade. The UK was the first industrialsed nation.

Many countries adopted it as a second language because of that.

You have to remember state education back then was not so expansive even in the developed world, so the visible signs of the use of English as a second language of choice is only recent.
 
PantherLotus said:
For perspective, New York City's metropolitan population is 18 Million people, bigger than every country on that list except for one. If you're wondering why this is important, a decent education (maybe in your country of choice?) would teach you that when you take a fraction and make the number on bottom bigger, the result gets smaller! Weird stuff, I know.
Click to expand...
China has a bigger economy than New York. So you're better off being Chinese than... New Yorkish?

Yeah, see that logic goes both ways.
 
gutter_trash said:
World War II changed everything

I wouldn't go so far as calling the US successful today in 2010.
Their collapsing banking system, failed sub prime mortgage loans, inequity, private health care is far from success from a Western standpoint
Click to expand...


Um the banking and financial crisis aren't exclusive to just the US. It's a world-wide problem.
 
Septy said:
I prefer being a citizen of a smaller but still prosperous country. We don't have to devote large amounts of resources to propping up informal empire. I'd imagine the average Luxemburger likes their present situation.

(Is not from Luxembourg).
Click to expand...

It's true. It's nice to be able to rely on somebody else for your defense.
 
ClosingADoor said:
I think it hit the US harder. And it started there ;)
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Iceland might beg to differ on the first.

Septy said:
I'm from a neutral country that hasn't been invaded in a very long time and has no powerful enemies. Thanks for protecting me I guess!
Click to expand...

You're welcome. Better late than never when it comes to gratitude, I always say.
 
Dude Abides said:
It's true. It's nice to be able to rely on somebody else for your defense.
Click to expand...

I'm from a neutral country that hasn't been invaded in a very long time and has no powerful enemies. Thanks for protecting me I guess!
 
Rank ↓Country ↓ US$ ↓
1 Luxembourg 113,044
2 Norway 94,387
3 Qatar 93,204
4 Switzerland 68,433
5 Denmark 62,097
6 Ireland 60,510
7 United Arab Emirates 55,028
8 Iceland 53,058
9 Netherlands 52,500
10 Sweden 52,181
11 Finland 51,588
12 Austria 50,039
13 United States 47,440
Click to expand...

GO LUXEMBOURG GO!!
 
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