(+1) 202-419-4372 | Media Inquiries. Enrolling in a course lets you earn progress by passing quizzes and exams. 2 2. The impact of modernization and individualization can be clearly seen in the lifestyles of people. I love that I get smarter everytime I listen to or read anything from Thomas Sowell. However, over the past 20 years, most of the nations of Eastern Europe have joined the . Press J to jump to the feed. Maybe we should remind him that Mexico and China, as US states, would both be far below our poorest state Mississippi by 51% and 62% respectively for GDP per capita; and Japan would be barely above our poorest state Mississippi. Most people in western Europe speak at least two languages, one of which will be English. Up until the beginning of November, the spike in the death rate was largely driven by the Czech Republic. East-West differences in unemployment rates cut across demographic lines including age and gender. These differences between eastern and western Europe will help you understand the magnitude of these differences better than before.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'questionscity_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_5',109,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-questionscity_com-medrectangle-4-0'); Western and Eastern Europe are on opposite sides of the continent. What led you to investigate the global conquests of western Europe? Feel free to submit interesting articles, tell us about this cool book you just read, or start a discussion about who everyone's favorite figure of minor French nobility is! 3. 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. 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. Because at close to the end of WWII Stalin was fed up waiting for the ever delaying Normandy landing, wanted making peace with Hitler, and go home to carry on building communism. All rights reserved. Even in countries where governments reintroduced relatively strong restrictions in October, such as Slovenia and Lithuania, infections and deaths have remained high throughout November suggesting low compliance with the rules. 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! Make a list of at least fifteen countries that are part of Eastern Europe. 1. Western European countries differ from each other in terms of their history, languages, religions, and political systems. Oxford COVID-19 government response tracker, Committee Member - MNF Research Advisory Committee, PhD Scholarship - Uncle Isaac Brown Indigenous Scholarship. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. Serbia was especially rich in mineral wealth and with trade from Adriatic to Aegean during the Middle Ages. Over the years I've been interested in a number of different things, and this new work puts together a lot of bits of my research. When it's easier to travel and grow food, it's easier to sell the food at a greater. Western Europe: People speak romance languages and languages with Germanic roots. Despite these differences, the former East has narrowed the gap with the former West substantially in recent decades. You have been on the Caltech faculty for more than 30 years. I've also been interested in the development of tax systems. This is probably the biggest reason I prefer Eastern Europe over Western Europe. This may have produced scepticism about the severity of the pandemic. What the data says about gun deaths in the U.S. But if you look at the US average ($54,629), it obviously is higher than economic output in European nations. Yellow areas poorer than Mexico. In other words, the few dark areas (a handful in Germany and one each in a few other nations) are the only parts of Europe that are economically equal or better thanthe United States. Where Eastern Europe begins, however, is a matter of opinion. And all of this describes Europe. Countries like Italy, S. Korea, Spain, Portugal and Greece would each rank below Mississippi as the poorest states in the country. For this reason, the economic situation is not uniform across the region. The Byzantium empire which included the Balkans, and Greece were the richest part of Europe prior to Ottoman conquest. Eastern Europe was praised for being exceptional during the first wave of the pandemic. That was a really great question and it got me interested. Greece is located in south-east Europe! You can designate these countries on your list with an asterisk or "s" in parentheses next to them. See less Comments You can think of that as being much like a baseball team that hires better players to win more games, but in this case, instead of coaches, it's political leaders and instead of games there are wars. The highest point in Eastern Europe is Mount Elbrus, which stands at 5642 meters high. I'm from Balkan, we have to translate Thomas Sowell in albanian, serbo-croatian, bullgarian, rumunian, greec .. Even the Catholic Church held a different view from the eastern church. And if you prefer direct measures of living standards, then data on consumption from the OECD also shows that America is considerably more prosperous. 525 lessons. - Definition & Laws, What Is Medicare? The economy is comparatively lower and less stable than in Western Europe. 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). Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Love Sowell. Before that point, Western and Eastern Europe were relatively similar in prosperity. 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. Daniel J. Mitchell is a Washington-based economistwho specializes in fiscal policy, particularly tax reform, international tax competition, and the economic burden of government spending. In 1991, per-capita productivity in the former East was less than half (43%) of productivity in the former West. The most common language spoken is Russian, followed by Polish, Ukrainian, Romanian and Bulgarian. One of the reasons for this, was that after WW II, parts of what were once considered to be Central and Western Europe, were taken over by a communist dictatorships aligned with the Soviet Union, and were classified as being part of Eastern Europe. Continue with Recommended Cookies. Countries in this region are typically located on the continent of Asia, except for Turkey which lies partly in both Asia and Europe. Definitions of Western and Eastern Europe: Characteristics of Western and Eastern Europe: Difference Between Afghanistan and Pakistan, Difference Between Commonwealth and Protectorate. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy: Legal. Five of the six states in the former East Germany with the exception of the city-state of Berlin had lower per-capita productivity in 2018 than the West German state with the lowest per-capita productivity, Schleswig-Holstein. From the Reformation to the 20th century. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, which spans roughly 40% of the continent's landmass while accounting for approximately 15% of its total . The capital of Romania is Bucharest, a city with approximately 1.8 million people. | Thomas Sowell 6,459 views Aug 4, 2022 Thomas Sowell Explains how geographical differences between Eastern and Western Europe played a key. Fox News' Tucker Carlson asks what Attorney General Merrick Garland is doing in Ukraine, and wonders why no one cares about what happened to the Nordstream pipeline. Daily new COVID-19 deaths per million inhabitants, second wave, eastern Europe. Many theories purport to explain how the West became dominant. The reason . Why is Eastern Europe Poorer than Western Europe? spidey1z. There are many stereotypes about Eastern Europeans, however, these stereotypes do not always apply to all Eastern European people due to differing cultures within the region itself. One thing is clear: eastern Europe exited the first wave at the end of June in much better shape than western Europe. Therefore, the simplest explanation for why eastern Europe initially fared much better is that it had a head start. Get unlimited access to over 88,000 lessons. 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. 47 West Virginia, and not too far above No. Or, that when Europeans began to travel the world, people in other countries did not have the immunity to fight off the diseases they brought with them. However, Poles, Croats, and other Catholic Slavs use the Latin alphabet (the same alphabet used by English). Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Slovenians, Hungarians, Croats, and a few others in Eastern Europe are traditionally Catholic. The Eastern European area bore the brunt of the Asian invasions too as first the Huns, then Avars, Slavs, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Mongols, and Turks all swept into the Balkans, Carpathian Basin, and the lands between the Black and Baltic seas each time wiping out native political powers. (+1) 202-419-4300 | Main There are over 500 different languages spoken in the region of eastern Europe. Central and East Europe were simply geographically unfortunate as wave after wave of immigrants and invaders moved through the region from China and were stopped before they made it into W Europe. Well, it depends on the parameters. 50 Mississippi. I would definitely recommend Study.com to my colleagues. Some argued that this was because of economics: that eastern European countries locked down early because they feared their economies would not be able to handle many people getting sick. Belgiums King Philippe is also Queen Mathildes husband. Unemployment is persistently higher in the former East Germany than in the former West. Why are countries in eastern Europe poorer than in western Europe? Has Eastern Europe always been poorer than Western Europe, and if so, why? Lets get back to whether people in places such as Denmark (or anywhere else in Europe) enjoy more prosperity than their American counterparts. Then all the wars with the Turks and having to pretty much defeat the Nazis on their own. This is perhaps one reason why startup teams in Western Europe are much smaller than in Eastern Europe. Eastern Europe: Most people follow Orthodox Christianity or Islam. In 1914, really only China, Japan, and the Ottoman Empire had escaped becoming European colonies. Some of the economic activity in energy-rich states such as North Dakota, for instance, translates into income for shareholders living elsewhere in America. It's also a sign of prosperity that, when they do earn American dollars, foreigners often choose to invest those funds in the American economy (remember, the necessary flip side of a "trade deficit" is a "capital surplus"). Coming from Engineering cum Human Resource Development background, has over 10 years experience in content developmet and management. Resource 01: https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Eastern_EuropeResource 02: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Europe, Differences Between Eastern And Western Europe, Differences Between Eastern And Western Culture, Differences Between Eastern and Western Roman Empire, Differences Between Eastern And Western Religions, https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Eastern_Europe, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Europe. The romance languages form another large branch of the Indo-European languages family. Communist regimes were politically repressive, and stifled the economic development of the region. 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. Usually, when this question is asked, the response is that WWII and the Cold War ruined Eastern Europe, or that the agricultural and industrial revolutions began in Britain and not in Eastern Europe. Therefore, do not misunderstand the information. Poland and eastern europe (as well as parts of Germany) did not have the higher level of urbanism at this time as in comparison with some Celtic Gallic settlements, which were in many ways already integrated into the Roman trade network in the case of southern Gaul. Explore Eastern Europe. Here is a look at how economic conditions in the former East and West Germany have changed over time, how they compare today and how people in the two areas perceive these differences. ), See also: How the attitudes of West and East Germans compare, 30 years after fall of Berlin Wall. There is also easier access to mineral resources the further west you go in Europe, so more western regions would develop stronger economies when the Industrial Revolution upped the demand for those resources, while the minerals of the east weren't tapped until later. I wrote previouslythat many European nations are doomed bydemographics tofiscal chaos, but a lot of people dont care that much about the future. 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. The head of the Orthodox faith is the Patriarch of Constantinople. This set Russia back quite a bit in a number of ways. Even much of Russia is located in Asia. 5. the Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Turkey (western-most part). 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. People in the former East Germany are also less optimistic than their counterparts in the former West on a variety of measures, including whether children today will grow up to be better off financially than their parents. The most widely-spoken Slavic language is Russian. Generally speaking, Slavic languages that use the Cyrillic alphabet are found in countries that practice the Eastern Orthodox faith. About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. All of the countries of Western and Northern Europe are very close to the ocean, and largely surrounded by it. You can refer to the lesson, but try to recall as many from memory as you can. Most of the Jews who live in the United States are the descendants of people who once lived in Eastern Europe. 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. Unofficial site of Thomas Sowell, Why is Eastern Europe Poorer than Western Europe? Example: You could draw a long river to illustrate the blue Danube. Most of the countries in Eastern Europe, including Romania, were never part of the Soviet Union. This shows that eastern European countries took the opportunity to act quickly. Learn what is considered Eastern European, view a list of Eastern European countries and discover Eastern Europe religions. However, the South Slavs themselves didn't have it easy, being subjugated by Franks, Bulgars and Byzantines, and later Magyars, Ottomans, Romanians, Austrians, Soviets, etc. Also economically, the Western European countries are much more advanced than the eastern European countries. Christianity History & Location | How Did Christianity Spread? What explains this reluctance to reintroduce restrictions? We can see from the next graph that, at the same time in the spring, the two regions introduced measures that were similarly strict. Eastern Europe: Eastern Europe refers to the eastern part of Europe. 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. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. The former East has a much smaller population than the former West (about 16 million people, compared with about 67 million), but its productivity is also lower when adjusted for population differences. Why is the Eastern Europe Poorer than the Western Europe?There are many reasons, the main ones are : location (Western Europe discovered new lands, Eastern Europe faced nomads), religion, the ottomans and the communism. 7. It also boasts some of the richest economies in the world with Germany being one of those countries at its forefront. Usually, when this question is asked, the response is that WWII and the Cold War ruined Eastern Europe, or that the agricultural and industrial revolutions began in Britain and not in Eastern Europe. The former East Germany trails the former West in productivity. They mostly had industry in the western part of the empire while the east was sparsely populated, large parts of the population were seen as unreliable (= suspected tsar sympathisers) and it was expected that the most eastern parts would get ruined by the next war with Russia so there wasn't much work to improve anything. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. Roma is the language of the people who used to be called Gypsies (The modern term for gypsies is "Roma."). 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. That being said, Ireland and the United Kingdom have the most economic freedom among EU nations, andSwitzerland would be at the top if the choice was broadened to non-EU nations in Europe. The key difference between Western and Eastern Europe is that the name Eastern Europe is used to refer to all European countries that were previously ruled by communist regimes while the name Western Europe refers to the more economically stable and developed Western countries. Eastern European countries include Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia, and Herzegovina, Bulgaria Croatia (Hrvatska), Czech Republic (esk Republika), Estonia (Eesti), Georgia ( ) Hungary (Magyarorsz g), Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Montenegro Poland Romania Russia Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Ukraine. The Chinese invented gunpowder, but Hoffman, whose work applies economic theory to historical contexts, argues that certain political and economic circumstances allowed the Europeans to advance gunpowder technology at an unprecedented rateallowing a relatively small number of people to quickly take over much of the rest of the globe. Also, the people follow many religions such as Orthodox Christianityand also Islam. You havent even mentioned socialism and central managed economies, the truth is that a lot of these countries were pretty 'rich' before ww2. It is followed by a brief description of the four major religions in the region. Shifting to a different topic, Mark Perry also takes a shot at Donald Trump, who seems to think that other nations are winning over America because of trade. Eastern Europe has a total population of about 258 million people. The Hagia Sophia is now a mosque. 1615 L St. NW, Suite 800Washington, DC 20036USA Here, we take a look at why this has happened. Excellent point. Speaking of European prosperity, heres a fascinating map I saw on Twitter. Difference Between Coronavirus and Cold Symptoms, Difference Between Coronavirus and Influenza, Difference Between Coronavirus and Covid 19, Difference Between Motorola Droid Bionic and Droid HD, Difference Between Coherence and Consistency, What is the Difference Between PEP and PrEP, What is the Difference Between Syphilis and Chancroid, What is the Difference Between Open and Closed Mitosis, What is the Difference Between Typical and Atypical Trigeminal Neuralgia, What is the Difference Between Menactra and Menveo, What is the Difference Between Soft Skills and Technical Skills, What is the Difference Between Idiopathic Hypersomnia and Narcolepsy. It started after I gave an undergraduate here a book to read about gunpowder technology, how it was invented in China and used in Japan and Southeast Asia, and how the Europeans got very good at using it, which fed into their successful conquests. 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. And almost no major companies have their headquarters in East Germany. The following blog post will discuss some common misconceptions about Eastern Europeans and provide insight into their culture based upon personal experience living there for an extended time. Well, Eastern Europe has always been less developed than the Western half. Seldom do you hear an average American complain about Poland or Estonia for not spending enough into defending Europebecause those countries, despite being . The terrible assumption you have made so far is Eastern Europe was always poor. Last Updated on March 19, 2022 by QCity Editorial Stuffif(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'questionscity_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_2',107,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-questionscity_com-medrectangle-3-0'); Foreigners visiting Europe often find themselves wondering what the differences are between Eastern and Western Europe. Politics might provide a hint: the Czech Republic held regional elections in October, while Romania voted in local elections in September and is about to vote in national elections in December. Cultural Syncretism Definition & Examples | What is Religious Syncretism? Western Europe has l. Hello and welcome to our channel. While its per-capita productivity remains lower than that of West Germany, the former East Germany has made major gains since unification. Western Europe: Western Europe is economically more advanced as well as prosperous. why is eastern europe poorer than western europe? 7. This is an excerpt from 'The Thomas Sowell Reader'-----------------------------------Relevant Books-----------------------------------Wealth, Poverty and Politics: https://amzn.to/3BHrsJrMigrations and Cultures: https://amzn.to/32rBemhThe Thomas Sowell Reader: https://amzn.to/3vpTuqR-------------------------------------------Support this Channel--------------------------------------------Become a Channel Member: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS67C1ChLicLkrp70mz7G7g/joinPayPal: https://paypal.me/SowellExplainsPateron: https://www.patreon.com/SowellExplainsSubscribestar: https://www.subscribestar.com/SowellExplains------------------------------------------Social Media------------------------------------------Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SowellExplainsTwitter: https://twitter.com/SowellExplainsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/SowellExplainsSubscribe for more Thomas Sowell videos! if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'questionscity_com-banner-1','ezslot_10',113,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-questionscity_com-banner-1-0'); Western Europe has been characterized by its diversity as well as its commitment to democracy and human rights. In either case, you'll still be spending money on the military and on military research. Yes, their welfare states are too large, but they somewhat compensate for that mistake by having very pro-free market policies in other areas. I feel like its a lifeline. That's because the Black Death was at its peak. Another explanation, described in Jared Diamond's famous book [Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies], is disease. 5. Additionally, some definitions include Greece as part of Eastern Europe, while others maintain that Greece is, in fact, part of Southern Europe. It shows that in between the two waves, the east relaxed its measures further than the west, and was then less eager in reimposing them. Through this article, let us examine the differences further. If you think about it, you realize that advancements in gunpowder technologywhich are important for conquestarise where political leaders fight using that technology, where they spend huge sums on it, and where they're able to share the resulting advances in that technology. Many of those that survived, emigrated to Israel or the US. The key difference between Western and Eastern Europe is that Eastern Europe consists of countries that once belonged to the Soviet block, unlike the Western European countries. 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. @media (max-width: 1171px) { .sidead300 { margin-left: -20px; } } Amazing how so many refuse to acknowledge how climate and geography go hand and hand with a countrys economic development.