Quote:
Originally Posted by yuriandrade
Although in my opinion empathy is a very important trace of personality, in fact our very social cohesion (and prosperity) are largely dependent on that, the discussion is not only philosophycal as you're painting. Unlikely in southern Italy, horrible conditions in Camden (or the ghetto closest to you) can literally explode on your face if things get ugly enough.
Look at Chile: continuous economic growth didn't benefit most of society and they are in the middle of a constitutional crisis. Not even a football match can be hosted there anymore. And that's only a mild crisis. Throughout history there are plenty of bloody examples where the entire society is turned upside down.
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But they really dont work like that, I understand if an Englishman in England feels a great sense of cohesion and sympathy for other Englishmen even some for the Welsh and Scotts and Irish too ...sometimes.
But do you get that same feeling for French? Greeks? Poles?
I doubt it.
Americans dont have that kind of sense there is not an "american" identity that people all flock to. The Americans view their national interest in a way native Europeans simply dont understand. We see each other much the way different European states in the EU see each other not the way people within France or Germany or England might see each other. So while intellectually the average person "cares" about the poor as a statistic but they "care" in the same way you care about poor Polish villagers.