Europeans’ and Americans’ Perceptions on Climate Change Are Quite Different

Our wonderful French intern, Olivier Goavec, is in the process of finalizing an article called “Europeans and Americans Have Different Perceptions on Climate Change.”  I thought readers might be interested in the comments I just wrote back to him during the editing process.  Fearing that Olivier might by hesitant to write about Americans with a level of brutal honest, I respond:

Whatever you do, don’t worry about insulting Americans.  I agree with everything you said, and I think you’re exactly correct about the fact that we have the resources, which we think entitles us to use them.  So simple, and so correct.

Personally, I think you could be even more condemnatory about American vs. European sensibilities generally.  Education is an example of the vastly different standards the two cultures set for themselves.  All Belgian kids read Plato, learn to speak a few different languages, and achieve a reasonable level of skill at the piano; by contrast, very few of our kids get any exposure to anything like this, and 95% of them can’t find Belgium on a map.

Perhaps more to the point, it seems to me that you folks tend to take far better care of one another, in terms of things like healthcare, social safety-nets, and wealth/income equality.  Given all this, it’s no surprise to me whatsoever that Europeans have a far better developed sense of responsibility in terms of things like the environment.

Europeans also are not as cynical on the role of government.  You expect quite a good deal from government, you’re willing to pay for it, and, in most cases, you receive it.  We tend to look at government as an incompetent, blood-sucking nuisance.

If you agree, and want to develop these themes, please go for it.