What make Europeans similar compared to other countries
With the rise of the European Union and the imminent enlargement to 10 Eastern European countries on 1st May, some people, inside or outside the EU, are wondering what it means to be European. If it is true that each country of linguistic group has its own culture, customs and way of doing things, it is nevertheless undeniable that European stand out as a group when compared to other Western countries (US, Australia...) or non Western-countries.
So what do have Europeans in common, among this cultural and linguistic melting pot ?
First, history and proximity. Europe is the same continent and each countries have continually influenced each others throughout the history until present. Not only did technology, political regimes and the evolution of religious believes surpass borders, so did fashion, music, ideals and artistic currents (baroque, romantic...). Whether you take the 13th, 16th, 18th or 19th century, architecture, music, lifestyle and way of dressing, even speaking, have evolved as one in virtually all Europe.
The conception of history itslef is a divide between Europeans and, say, Americans (of the whole continent) or Oceanians. When one grows up in a place where the local church or castle is 500 years old, or one's own house is 200 years old, 100 years doesn't feel that long. Besides, most Europeans are better aware of and interested in history (not just European, but world history), than most other people in the world.
Nowadays, one of the most obvious rift between Europeans and Americans is religion. Anywhere in Europe (yes, even, and especially in Italy), churches are almost empty on Sundays. In several countries, they would if it weren't for a few elderly women... A recent survey of the BBC shows the gap between the UK and US, regarding beliefs in God and church attendance. It seems to me that countries like France or Belgium have even lower figures than Britain.
Two other things that can unite (or divide) present-day Europeans are food and clothes. Obviously, each country has its own cuisine and way of dressing and there doesn't seem to be much point in comparing a Brits to Italians on this issue. Yet there is. If we take the US as a benchmark, Italy and the UK can be strikingly similar, as are all Europeans. It's not just that fast-food is not a European favourite, it's more that one can find nowadays Italian, French or Chinese restaurants in any countries, and many Brits probably eat more pasta (or curry, which actually make them different again ) than "traditional" British food. There is certainly a similarity between European diets, as Europeans are rarely fat, and when they are, almost never the way Americans can get. No need to say that taking non-Western countries as a benchmark would make European food even more similar. Then few people know that lasagna was possibly invented in England, not Italy ! (=> see article ). It just goes on to prove how interconnected and similar Europe has always be. Another major similarity is that Europeans in all countries make and eat a lot of cheese (sharp contrast to Japan or East Asia, though Ameticans are somewhere in between).
Going back to clothing, Europeans usually dress more formally than Americans or Australians. Compared to Japanese, even when both are wearing suits, the difference in style is evident. Japanese salarymen so-to-say always wear black (or grey for older people) suits and quite simple, not too colourful or original ties. European designer even need to make special, simpler models for Japan. If you go to Paul Smith or E. Zegna in Tokyo, only the imported ties (i.e. European-made) stand out as really original. Another main disparity is that European (in any country) wear beige, brown, khaki or green suits, tend to wear much more wool jumpers or cardigans than Japanese. I suppose that hair colour is determinant, as Italians are the ones to wear the more black suits, and Germanic European (Brits, Dutch people, Germans, Scandivanians) the less black suits.
Further, Europeans tend to be more intellectual, dare I say any other people in the world. They are the ones who like debating history, philosophy, world problems, politics, cultural differences, watch documentaries or want to know every technical details about new mobile phones, camcorders or cars, even if they don't intend to buy any (just for the sake of knowledge). In comparison, both the average Americans, and vast majority of Japanese are much more practical and only really care about money and "easy entertainment" (TV, movies, celebrities, sex, sports...). No wonder that European universities are so-to-say free and don't usually require entrance examinations. There are so many young people who study for its own sake, without really knowing what they want to do in life. It's now common to find people who study 7 or 10 years at university in France or Germany, because they want to learn more, can't find a job, prefer studying than working, or just worry about not getting a job without a PhD in something and a Master in something else (I exaggerate a bit, but I know such people). In comparison, my impression is that Americans and Japanese study with only aim to get a job, Americans aiming at success (power, money, prestige, fame), Japanese aiming at high-salaries (only). Of course, it's a generalisation, but that gives the trend for each country. IMO, Other East-Asians are very much like Japanese. India would be the most similar culture to Europe regarding learning for its own sake - maybe even more so. Incidentally, I've met quite a few Indians who were doctors in medicine or lawyer but work as small shop-owners. It's also normal for Indians to speak more than 5 languages (some will tell you 10 or 15, but they probably includes dialects). I've met Indian children living in the streets, who have never been to school, but who could speak English, French, Italian, Japanese and/or Hebrew, with a better accent than any Japanese could hope for.
Politically, Europe is mostly "socialist-capitalist" for the moment. I mean by socialist, except for the name of ruling parties, that social security is very developed compared to the US, or even Japan. Government medicare covers the larger part or all medical cost, depending on the countries. So, for instance all visit to the doctors or hospital are free in the UK, and public hospital in Spain or Italy are also free (even for foreigners). Education is free from nursery school to university in all Europe to the best of my knowledge. Even university exchange programmes inside the EU (Erasmus...) are free and encouraged by the government (in my business school, all students had to study twice in another EU country). In most EU countries, motorways (=expressways) are free (exceptions are France and Italy). All EU countries have strong social security benefits regarding unemployment, and taxes rates are high to pay for all this and redistribute money for more equality (though it seems that Japan has still smaller gaps between the rich and the poor).
To summarise, Europeans are similar in their interest for intellectual issues, their learning of languages (the English still lag behind though), their liking for learning and debating, their openness to the world and other cultures, their relatively similar fashion and lifestyle, their relationship to history and low religiousness, high social security and taxes levels. Regarding language learning and low religiousness, this has not always been so, and older generations are still an exception.
With the rise of the European Union and the imminent enlargement to 10 Eastern European countries on 1st May, some people, inside or outside the EU, are wondering what it means to be European. If it is true that each country of linguistic group has its own culture, customs and way of doing things, it is nevertheless undeniable that European stand out as a group when compared to other Western countries (US, Australia...) or non Western-countries.
So what do have Europeans in common, among this cultural and linguistic melting pot ?
First, history and proximity. Europe is the same continent and each countries have continually influenced each others throughout the history until present. Not only did technology, political regimes and the evolution of religious believes surpass borders, so did fashion, music, ideals and artistic currents (baroque, romantic...). Whether you take the 13th, 16th, 18th or 19th century, architecture, music, lifestyle and way of dressing, even speaking, have evolved as one in virtually all Europe.
The conception of history itslef is a divide between Europeans and, say, Americans (of the whole continent) or Oceanians. When one grows up in a place where the local church or castle is 500 years old, or one's own house is 200 years old, 100 years doesn't feel that long. Besides, most Europeans are better aware of and interested in history (not just European, but world history), than most other people in the world.
Nowadays, one of the most obvious rift between Europeans and Americans is religion. Anywhere in Europe (yes, even, and especially in Italy), churches are almost empty on Sundays. In several countries, they would if it weren't for a few elderly women... A recent survey of the BBC shows the gap between the UK and US, regarding beliefs in God and church attendance. It seems to me that countries like France or Belgium have even lower figures than Britain.
Two other things that can unite (or divide) present-day Europeans are food and clothes. Obviously, each country has its own cuisine and way of dressing and there doesn't seem to be much point in comparing a Brits to Italians on this issue. Yet there is. If we take the US as a benchmark, Italy and the UK can be strikingly similar, as are all Europeans. It's not just that fast-food is not a European favourite, it's more that one can find nowadays Italian, French or Chinese restaurants in any countries, and many Brits probably eat more pasta (or curry, which actually make them different again ) than "traditional" British food. There is certainly a similarity between European diets, as Europeans are rarely fat, and when they are, almost never the way Americans can get. No need to say that taking non-Western countries as a benchmark would make European food even more similar. Then few people know that lasagna was possibly invented in England, not Italy ! (=> see article ). It just goes on to prove how interconnected and similar Europe has always be. Another major similarity is that Europeans in all countries make and eat a lot of cheese (sharp contrast to Japan or East Asia, though Ameticans are somewhere in between).
Going back to clothing, Europeans usually dress more formally than Americans or Australians. Compared to Japanese, even when both are wearing suits, the difference in style is evident. Japanese salarymen so-to-say always wear black (or grey for older people) suits and quite simple, not too colourful or original ties. European designer even need to make special, simpler models for Japan. If you go to Paul Smith or E. Zegna in Tokyo, only the imported ties (i.e. European-made) stand out as really original. Another main disparity is that European (in any country) wear beige, brown, khaki or green suits, tend to wear much more wool jumpers or cardigans than Japanese. I suppose that hair colour is determinant, as Italians are the ones to wear the more black suits, and Germanic European (Brits, Dutch people, Germans, Scandivanians) the less black suits.
Further, Europeans tend to be more intellectual, dare I say any other people in the world. They are the ones who like debating history, philosophy, world problems, politics, cultural differences, watch documentaries or want to know every technical details about new mobile phones, camcorders or cars, even if they don't intend to buy any (just for the sake of knowledge). In comparison, both the average Americans, and vast majority of Japanese are much more practical and only really care about money and "easy entertainment" (TV, movies, celebrities, sex, sports...). No wonder that European universities are so-to-say free and don't usually require entrance examinations. There are so many young people who study for its own sake, without really knowing what they want to do in life. It's now common to find people who study 7 or 10 years at university in France or Germany, because they want to learn more, can't find a job, prefer studying than working, or just worry about not getting a job without a PhD in something and a Master in something else (I exaggerate a bit, but I know such people). In comparison, my impression is that Americans and Japanese study with only aim to get a job, Americans aiming at success (power, money, prestige, fame), Japanese aiming at high-salaries (only). Of course, it's a generalisation, but that gives the trend for each country. IMO, Other East-Asians are very much like Japanese. India would be the most similar culture to Europe regarding learning for its own sake - maybe even more so. Incidentally, I've met quite a few Indians who were doctors in medicine or lawyer but work as small shop-owners. It's also normal for Indians to speak more than 5 languages (some will tell you 10 or 15, but they probably includes dialects). I've met Indian children living in the streets, who have never been to school, but who could speak English, French, Italian, Japanese and/or Hebrew, with a better accent than any Japanese could hope for.
Politically, Europe is mostly "socialist-capitalist" for the moment. I mean by socialist, except for the name of ruling parties, that social security is very developed compared to the US, or even Japan. Government medicare covers the larger part or all medical cost, depending on the countries. So, for instance all visit to the doctors or hospital are free in the UK, and public hospital in Spain or Italy are also free (even for foreigners). Education is free from nursery school to university in all Europe to the best of my knowledge. Even university exchange programmes inside the EU (Erasmus...) are free and encouraged by the government (in my business school, all students had to study twice in another EU country). In most EU countries, motorways (=expressways) are free (exceptions are France and Italy). All EU countries have strong social security benefits regarding unemployment, and taxes rates are high to pay for all this and redistribute money for more equality (though it seems that Japan has still smaller gaps between the rich and the poor).
To summarise, Europeans are similar in their interest for intellectual issues, their learning of languages (the English still lag behind though), their liking for learning and debating, their openness to the world and other cultures, their relatively similar fashion and lifestyle, their relationship to history and low religiousness, high social security and taxes levels. Regarding language learning and low religiousness, this has not always been so, and older generations are still an exception.
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