Cultural Differences in Europe

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses and compares the cultures of Germany, Italy, and France and how they relate to what is going on today. It shows how Germany's militaristic background not only influenced its history, but also how life is done today, including culture, education, and business practices. The paper compares this attitude to Italy which has a distinct culture of "la dolce vita" or "the sweet life" which has had an impact on every aspect as well. It also discusses the great importance of family as well as the not so stable political system. France follows a very centralized control system, and how the relationship between schools, business, and government are all important in French business. The paper concludes by showing that the cultural patterns in Germany, Italy, and France are mostly based on the relationship between government and businesses.

From the Paper:

"Germany's strong political economy has made it a great leader of the European Union. It has the highest per capita in Europe, and is also a technological leader specializing in engineering, manufacturing, and chemicals. Germany was once the fastest growing economy in the European Union, but their high quality products bring about problems with high product costs and slow increase in productivity, leading to the recent stagnant economy. Other attributes to the stagnation include a limitation in domestic competition, which lessens the need for innovation, reluctance to new technology because the workers must be retrained in these new technologies, and labor reforms, since companies do not fire, they are reluctant to hire. The military approach has had a great impact on Germany as seen through German history, which goes through cycles from fragmentation and poverty, to unity and prosperity, to war and defeat, and finally back to fragmentation. The country was at its best when united with the military, and the lesson learned from each of these cycles of history is that they have to be stronger next time."

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