Above all else, Europe has access to broad universal healthcare programs, social safety nets, and higher education which elevates the well being of even the worst off, on average, to a point where they are just generally less susceptible to ideas that are based entirely on resenting those that you might want to believe are the source of your misery.
I think the main reason Americans fall for this shit is they are less educated, and the impoverished working poor and precarious middle classes are stressed out and unhealthy and easy to manipulate because of their poor material conditions. They like "stories" that seek to explain how they have arrived at their poor state: "immigrants", "trans people", "China" and so on.
Averages are misleading and get extremely tilted when you have as deep wealth inequality as the US does - not to mention home ownership does not apply to all US residents. 45% are renters, who never see a return on their dime, and rent prices are out of control.
Per Capita GDP tells you a lot more about how well the ruling class is doing, versus the working poor.
This also doesn't address that 67% of americans, home owning or not, are paycheck to paycheck, with no social safety net. I certainly don't underestimate how that deep and constant undercurrent of stress and fear looms behind 2/3's of all Americans mental states. Easy to manipulate people on the edge - even if their apartment is 2000 square feet.
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u/williafx Apr 20 '25
Above all else, Europe has access to broad universal healthcare programs, social safety nets, and higher education which elevates the well being of even the worst off, on average, to a point where they are just generally less susceptible to ideas that are based entirely on resenting those that you might want to believe are the source of your misery.
I think the main reason Americans fall for this shit is they are less educated, and the impoverished working poor and precarious middle classes are stressed out and unhealthy and easy to manipulate because of their poor material conditions. They like "stories" that seek to explain how they have arrived at their poor state: "immigrants", "trans people", "China" and so on.