Why do you think the UK is not part of Europe?

[ThomasSoerensen]

Sometimes "in short" is just too short. There are several meanings covered by the word Europe. Many "continental" Europeans use it to mean the EU, for example.

Are you busy telling them too that they must not have gone to school?

yes

[KimberleyChris]

We are just as European as everybody else.

There's no point pretending that mainland Europe is just one big group hug, 'cos it isn't.

The Dutch don't like the Germans; the French resent us; the Nogs aren't too fond of the Swedes etc.

The Germans would never accept being ruled by anybody else, and - as history has shown - neither do we.

[Ignis Fatuus]

We are just as European as everybody else.

There's no point pretending that mainland Europe is just one big group hug, 'cos it isn't.

The Dutch don't like the Germans; the French resent everybody else; the Nogs aren't too fond of the Swedes etc.

The Germans would never accept being ruled by anybody else, and - as history has shown - neither do we.

FTFY

[doodab]

Nonsense. The axiomatic approach only took hold in the latter two centuries, well after Smith, although the seeds may have been sown earlier.

It was you who said Europe believed in a Cartesian, top down approach. The modern axiomatic method is an extension of that tradition, which can be traced back to Euclid. The modern conception of the "invisible hand of markets" was largely developed along such lines in the last 200 years or so, which isn't "long after Smith" at all.

The point is it is firmly grounded in the European philosophical tradition.

[BlasterBates]

I would spend some time retraining if I were you. The icy economic winds about to hit the continent will mean testing (and other jobs) will drop off drastically.

are you sure about that?

German business confidence boosting the Euro

[sasguru]

are you sure about that?

German business confidence boosting the Euro

Hurrah! It's all over and the Eurozone problems are fixed!

Nobber

[Mich the Tester]

Hurrah! It's all over and the Eurozone problems are fixed!

Nobber

It's not some binary fixed-or-fooked situation. Yes, Europe's economies have some problems. Some are dealing with them better than others. Some are only just starting to get to grips with them, some will probably always need some kind of subsidy (like Greece). But believe it or not, there are actually plenty of businesspeople who are looking at things positively and getting on with the job. They can't do much else.

[sasguru]

It's not some binary fixed-or-fooked situation. Yes, Europe's economies have some problems. Some are dealing with them better than others. Some are only just starting to get to grips with them, some will probably always need some kind of subsidy (like Greece). But believe it or not, there are actually plenty of businesspeople who are looking at things positively and getting on with the job. They can't do much else.

I think you'll find for the majority of the population in the PIIGS it is pretty much binary i.e. completely fooked. Losing 5% of your GDP every year is pretty much crapola whichever way you look at it.

[d000hg]

it was a simple WHY question.
thereis no need to get your panties in a bunch

Well you got everyone else having a serious discussion despite the pointlessness of the original rant so I suppose...

there are several different mindsets and by lumping them all together you only enable everyone to refute you.
be more specific and less general would make the point much more defendable.

I don't think the onus is on me to put up an argument why a collection of dozens of independent countries shouldn't be generalised as different to the UK.
But if you insist, then some European countries are very secular (France), others are quite traditionally Catholic (Spain) or Muslim (Albania); there are very wealthy and really quite impoverished countries.

Hang loose man...

Heh, but not this time. It just seemed a disappointing subject for a rant. What next, a diatribe about how "they're NORTH Americans"?

[Mich the Tester]

I think you'll find for the majority of the population in the PIIGS it is pretty much binary i.e. completely fooked. Losing 5% of your GDP every year is pretty much crapola whichever way you look at it.

So why aren't they all here in NL and DE where there are still enough jobs going?