Please do not edit the piece, ensure that you attribute the author and mention that this article was originally published on FEE.org, Living Standards Are Markedly Higher in the United States, are doomed bydemographics tofiscal chaos, America should copy their expansive welfare states. I'd given it to him because the use of this technology is related to politics and fiscal systems and taxes, and as he was reading it, he noted that the book did not give the ultimate cause of why Europe in particular was so successful. - Definition, Eligibility & Coverage, What Is Medication Reconciliation? So now I wonder why India, which is by the ocean, has a warm climate, natural wealth, and at the same time is much poorer than those poor Eastern European countries? We can see from the next graph that, at the same time in the spring, the two regions introduced measures that were similarly strict. But a while ago I ran into this interesting post about the Romans in Eastern Europe: The Romans were mostly interested in conquering areas that had a high degree of self sufficiency which could provide a tax base for them to extract from. Hungarian is a Finno-Ugric language that is distantly related to Finnish and Estonian. Belgiums King Philippe is also Queen Mathildes husband. I've been to EE and could see a significant difference in the living standards between there and here in Germany: people tend to be thinner, have worse skin, worse styles and their own supermarkets are shit. Also economically, the Western European countries are much more advanced than the eastern European countries. In 2018, the average unemployment rate was 6.9% in the six states of the former East Germany, compared with 4.8% in the 10 states of the former West Germany. This button displays the currently selected search type. Enrolling in a course lets you earn progress by passing quizzes and exams. Despite these differences, the former East has narrowed the . Western European countries are generally considered to include Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland (Republic of), Italy(although it could also be grouped with Central/Eastern European nations), Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. Live Longer: Western Europeans live longer than eastern Europeans.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[320,100],'questionscity_com-large-mobile-banner-2','ezslot_4',117,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-questionscity_com-large-mobile-banner-2-0'); Smaller House: Eastern Europeans live in smaller houses or apartments compared to western Europeans. Higher Percentage: Theres a higher percentage of people living in poverty in eastern Europe than there is in western Europe.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'questionscity_com-leader-1','ezslot_3',116,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-questionscity_com-leader-1-0'); Unemployment Rate: Unemployment rates are much higher in eastern Europe. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy: Legal. Productivity in the East, in other words, was 75% of productivity in the West on a per-capita basis. This is a problem in an age of common migration because the educated and talented are migrating from Eastern to Western Europe. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. 1615 L St. NW, Suite 800Washington, DC 20036USA Made it more difficult for lasting civilizations. Although they may seem like completely different worlds at first glance, there are some striking similarities between eastern and western European countries that can help travelers decide where to go on vacation or which country to live in after college graduation. A third of all languages spoken in western Europe are indigenous and not derived from Latin or Greek. Romanian is a romance language. The longest river in the region is the Danube. spidey1z. Their situation relative to Western Europe has not become better 70 years after WWII. The reporter from the Wall Street Journal who shared it remarked that Purple areas are rich as US states. This is interesting because it shows that the wealth divide between Eastern and Western Europe existed long before the modern era. For example, if I am fighting you and you figure out a better way to build an armed ship, I can imitate you. Also the Danube is a big invasion route from the Black Sea to Germany. If, for some reason, somebody was holding a gun to my head and demanding that we copy the policies of a nation from the European Union,the Nordic countries would be among my top choices. 10. Conclusion paragraph: The differences between Eastern and Western Europe are vast, but there is one important similarity. 525 lessons. They vary from culture to language, religion, and even government systems. 2.Standard of living in Britain was usually poor, Probably OP refers the wealth of the States, not the standard of living of the population (e.g. Here, we take a look at why this has happened. However, unlike other Latin people, Romanians belong to the Eastern Orthodox faith, and unlike almost all other Eastern Orthodox countries, Romanians use the Latin alphabet. The influence of the ocean. Answer (1 of 21): It's not. Through this article, let us examine the differences further. That comes down to the political costs of raising revenue and a leader's ability to tax. There are many different religions practiced in eastern European countries, including Christianity and Islam. You want areas that produce finished products that are part of external trade systems. I think the main reason is that Europe is . Eastern Europe has a total population of about 258 million people. The highest mountain in eastern Europe is Mount Elbrus, which stands at 18,510 feet tall. There are over 500 different languages spoken in the region of eastern Europe. Many of the countries of Eastern Europe did not exist before the 20th century. Greece is in Eastern Europe. Eastern Europe is 'poorer' than Western Europe, during the war they were helpless and were taken over by Germany or the Soviets, with the fall of both empires countries taken by Hitler. Eastern Europe is home to a number of mountain ranges, including the Musala, the region's tallest mountain. Things are much better if the conflict concerns something that can be split upsuch as money or land. 4. Most of the countries in Eastern Europe, including Romania, were never part of the Soviet Union. Paris was this little walled fortress town, and Constantinople was so large it needed its own governor. Despite this, the Soviet Union did play an important role in the regions history. However, over the past 20 years, most of the nations of Eastern Europe have joined the . Europe's 'food apartheid': are brands in the east lower quality than in People speak languages with Slavic roots. The main differences are the recognition of the pope as the head of the church, and the fact that priests in the Eastern orthodox faith are allowed to marry. Western Europe: People speak romance languages and languages with Germanic roots. Heres another map, concentrating just on Northern Europe. The technology grew to include more than just guns: armed ships, fortifications that can resist artillery, and more, and the Europeans became the best at using these things. Its language is related to Italian, Spanish, and French, making the Romanians the only Latin people in Eastern Europe. Personally, I would much rather see expenditures devoted to infrastructure, or scientific research, or free preschool for everybodythings that would carry big economic benefitsbut in this world, I don't think you can stop doing military research or spending money on the military. For Western Europe, it was the Scandinavian Vikings who preyed upon river cities and traffic. Cases and deaths have not been spread evenly across the region. Europe Climate Zones & Classifications | What Is the Climate In Europe? And if you prefer direct measures of living standards, then data on consumption from the OECD also shows that America is considerably more prosperous. As a quick caveat, its worth noting that theres not a one-to-one link between gross domestic product and actual living standards. Has Eastern Europe always been poorer than Western Europe, and - Reddit On average, Eastern Europeans live longer than western Europeans because they smoke fewer cigarettes and drink less alcohol on average. The climate varies greatly from country to country because it encompasses such a large area of land for an area thats not very populated which leads to different types of vegetation across the region. Then you have more capital to invest, which allows for growth of the countrys industry. You'll still need to back up the peace with armed forces, but you won't actually fight all that much, and that's a much better outcome. QuotidianPain 2 yr. ago I don't think Atlantic trade is the sole reason though. Neighbouring Slovakia, on the other hand, imposed stricter measures despite having far fewer cases and deaths. Additionally, some definitions include Greece as part of Eastern Europe, while others maintain that Greece is, in fact, part of Southern Europe. /r/History is a place for discussions about history. I am glad that a more vigorous race wasn't here as they would have truly dominated the world! Today, both Judaism and the Yiddish language are scarce in this part of the world. But free markets and small government have produced decades of strong growth, and now these places are among the richest places on the planet. A long line of horse-lords swept west from the steppe into eastern europe, and would generally displace the tribes living there - all the way up to the Mongols. Serbia was especially rich in mineral wealth and with trade from Adriatic to Aegean during the Middle Ages. On average, Eastern Europeans live longer than western Europeans because they smoke fewer cigarettes and drink less alcohol on average. Here is an Eastern Europe countries list that can help discern what is considered Eastern European territory, and what countries are considered Eastern European: Note: The Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) are also sometimes considered to be part of Eastern Europe by some, but part of Northern Europe by others. Answer (1 of 7): The time lapse. Create a poster, chart, or some other type of graphic organizer that lists and provides statistics for the religions of Eastern Europe. ), See also: How the attitudes of West and East Germans compare, 30 years after fall of Berlin Wall. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. This is why Eastern Europe, in general, is poorer than countries in Western, Central, and Northern Europe. Austria-Hungary is partially to blame. Today, not a single east German company is listed on the DAX-30, the nations leading stock exchange index, the report notes. | Thomas Sowell, What Makes Coastal People So Different? Speaking of European prosperity, heres a fascinating map I saw on Twitter. idc abour other guys i have a fat cock and im not afraid to shove it down ur skinny bitch throat The Western European region is very much advanced in its economy. The theology of the Eastern Orthodox faith is very similar to the theology of the Catholic religion. New research shows that this goes back about 1,000 years. Most of the major periods in European history (Middle Ages, Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment), also affected Eastern Europe. But something like the smallpox epidemic that ravaged Mexico when the Spanish conquistador Hernn Corts overthrew the Aztec Empire just isn't the whole story of Corts's victory or of Europe's successful colonization of other parts of the world. Of course not. The Hagia Sophia is now a mosque. Authors compilation. (+1) 202-419-4372 | Media Inquiries. Although Europe represents only about 8 percent of the planet's landmass, from 1492 to 1914, Europeans conquered or colonized more than 80 percent of the entire world. Despite substantial improvements in recent decades, the former East Germany continues to trail the former West Germany on important economic measures ranging from unemployment to productivity, according to an annual German government report on the status of German unity. (The most recent version of the report, from September, is available here in German. With so much diversity within this region, its easy to see why people from around the globe flock here every year. Amazing how so many refuse to acknowledge how climate and geography go hand and hand with a country's economic development. The four major religions in Eastern Europe are the Eastern Orthodox faith, Catholicism, Islam, and Judaism. 8. Roman Catholicism - Roman Catholicism is the largest branch of Christianity on Earth. Coronavirus: why is eastern Europe's second wave so much worse than its Eastern Europe: (Still) the Most Crucial of All Challenges Facing the Western Europe (Robinson Project)By Serg!o [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons, 2. Monotheism Overview & Examples | What is Monotheistic Religion? Before World War II, there were large pockets of German speakers scattered throughout parts of Western Europe. And while 7.5% of East Germans ages 55 to 64 were unemployed in 2018, the share was 5.3% among West Germans in the same age range. Thanks! What explains this reluctance to reintroduce restrictions? 3. However, most central and eastern European countries have been gradually converging towards western Europe countries over the past few decades after the transition to market economies, the introduction of democracy, and the formation of the European Union. Where Eastern Europe begins, however, is a matter of opinion. However, over the past 20 years, most of the nations of Eastern Europe have joined the European Union. Some of the countries that belong to Eastern Europe are Albania, Bosnia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Russia, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine, Serbia, Slovakia, Moldova, Lithuania, etc. Some of the countries that fall under this category are United Kingdom, Norway, Portugal, Spain, France, Switzerland, Vatican City, Netherlands, Sweden, Malta, Italy, Iceland, Germany, Greece, Finland, etc. These are the countries that are in Eastern Europe: Russia (Partly in Asia). Daily new COVID-19 deaths per million inhabitants, second wave, eastern Europe. Western Europe is a region in Europethat is associated with the western portion of the Eurasian landmass,as well as some countries on islands off its coast. By comparison, disposable income in the former West Germany was 23,283 a year, or about $26,300. Most European countries (including Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Belgium) if they joined the US, would rank among the poorest one-third of US states on a per-capita GDP basis, and the UK, France, Japan and New Zealand would all rank among Americas very poorest states, below No. The Czech Republic acted very late, for example, imposing stricter measures at the end of October, even though cases and deaths had been soaring upwards during the month. Great video. There have been many periods where the Polish/Baltic/Ukraine/Belarus area was very wealthy. Why is Eastern Europe Poorer than Western Europe? | Thomas Sowell You also have more free time to learn other skills and trades. Example: 1.56% of Eastern Europeans are atheist. The Netherlands is the country with the most time off in the world. Manage Settings 9. Western Europe's Weakness Provoked Putin? While the Soviet Union was once considered to be the most important country in Eastern Europe, many ex-Soviet nations are, in fact, not even in Europe. Around three-quarters of people in the former East Germany (74%) and around two-thirds of those in the former West (66%) say the East still has not achieved the same living standards as the West, according to the Centers recent survey, which was conducted among representative samples of adults in both areas as part of a larger study of Europe. The division of the Roman Empire occurred partially as a result of economic differences. Countries in this region are typically located on the continent of Asia, except for Turkey which lies partly in both Asia and Europe. Many theories purport to explain how the West became dominant. Even before the Holocaust, Jews faced terrible discrimination from the Christian-majority populations in which they lived. Among people ages 15 to 24, for example, the average unemployment rate in the former East Germany was 7.7% in 2018, compared with 4.1% in the former West. (In all economic statistics in this analysis, Berlin is counted in East Germany, even though the city was divided during communism and is not directly comparable to other parts of East Germany.). As always, excellently explained to be easily understood. Western Europe is a major tourist attraction with over 100 million visitors per year. Richer not only than Europe, but even more prosperous than the United States. Very hard for a country to be doing well after all those struggles. Create your account. Generally speaking, Slavic languages that use the Cyrillic alphabet are found in countries that practice the Eastern Orthodox faith. But one explanation that can probably be ditched is the culture argument mentioned previously. What made you turn to the idea of gunpowder technology as an explanation? I'm from Balkan, we have to translate Thomas Sowell in albanian, serbo-croatian, bullgarian, rumunian, greec .. I would definitely recommend Study.com to my colleagues. - Definition & Laws, What Is Medicare? The spending on war gave leaders a chance to try out new weapons, new armed ships, and new tactics, and to learn from mistakes on the battlefield. Why are countries in eastern Europe poorer than in western Europe Yes, their welfare states are too large, but they somewhat compensate for that mistake by having very pro-free market policies in other areas. Pandemic fatigue is present across the entire continent, and may be especially present in the east, where some people may have felt that they went into a lockdown for nothing. Cross-posted from the International Libertyblog. Using GDP per capita as a measure of both economic output per person and of a countrys standard of living, America is winning quite handsomely. As an eastern european I want to say that while what Sowell explained might be true, the reasons he gave are minor in comparison to the economic damage that Russia and Communism caused in eastern Europe. All findings are based on data from the German governments 2019 report, as well as the Centers recent survey. Total compensation, gross wages and salaries, and disposable (or after-tax) income have long been lower in the former East Germany than in the former West, according to the governments report. why is eastern europe less developed Being dominated for centuries has led to lingering inequality and long-lasting effects in many formerly colonized countries, including poverty and slow economic growth. I received my bachelor's degree in history from George Washington University and later earned a master's degree in the same subject from Uppsala University in Sweden. We can also compare how restrictive the two regions disease-prevention measures were during the first wave using the Oxford COVID-19 government response tracker (OxCGRT). Please, enable JavaScript and reload the page to enjoy our modern features. You can refer to the lesson, but try to recall as many from memory as you can. copyright 2003-2023 Study.com. Before 1800, Europe had already taken over at least 35 percent of the world, but Britain was just beginning to industrialize. In the early 2000s, the unemployment rate was about 10 percentage points higher in the former East than in the former West nearly five times the gap in 2018. This shows that eastern European countries took the opportunity to act quickly. In 2017, the most recent year for which data is available, per-capita disposable income was 19,909 per year in the former East Germany the equivalent of about $22,500 based on the average euro-to-dollar exchange rate that year. Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World, How the attitudes of West and East Germans compare, 30 years after fall of Berlin Wall, Gasoline costs more these days, but price spikes have a long history and happen for a host of reasons, Inflation has risen around the world, but the U.S. has seen one of the biggest increases, Views of the economy have turned sharply negative in many countries amid COVID-19, Prior to COVID-19, Urban Core Counties in the U.S. Turkish belongs to the Turkic language family. The Eastern and Western hemispheres of the world are vastly different in many ways. What countries make up Eastern Europe? Until 1991, the Soviet Union controlled everything from the Bering Strait to the Rhine. And the more that the political leaders spend, the better their chances of defeating other leaders and, in the long run, of dominating the other cultures. I mean, as a Brit, I can see how our island had the best of it regarding no land border and access to the sea! For instance, Romanians speak a romance language. Germans in both areas say living standards in the former East have not yet caught up with those in the former West. One lesson the book teaches is that actions involving war, foreign policy, and military spending can have big, long-lasting consequences: this is a lesson that policy makers should never forget. You havent even mentioned socialism and central managed economies, the truth is that a lot of these countries were pretty 'rich' before ww2. The fall of the Berlin Wall 30 years ago this week brought far-reaching social and economic changes to communist East Germany, and people on both sides of the former barrier say the changes that have occurred since 1989 have had a positive influence on living standards in their country, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey. And Im debunking the argument that we should copy nations such as Denmark by allowing a larger government in the United States (though I do want to copy Danish policies in other areas, which generally are more pro-economic liberty than what we have in America).