DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate - View Single Post - What is your image of each social class ?

**HexcewlyRette** · 09-01-2012, 12:48 PM

Well as you know I grow up in Australia and I am East Asian. The world that I grow up with has always been materialistic, and as my education is mainly done in Australia, vast majority of our textbooks come from the US.

I have lived 6 months in Australia, and all I can say is that I see it as a small version of the US South (Queensland would be Florida, and the rest would be mostly Texas, California and what's in between). I noticed that North-East Asians are much closer to the Americans than the Europeans, for their materialism, self-centrism, ignorance of the world, emphasis of education to get a job rather than to form the mind and give the passion to learn, etc.

These are countries where money make your respected, while in Europe people try to hide their money so as not to engender envy, jealousy and troubles. In the USA, Australia and East Asia, people's aim in life is to be rich, get married and have children; in Europe it is to be happy, with or without being riched or being married. Let's say that Europeans have a much more philosophical approach and value more quality of life over symbols and status. In a sense, Europeans care less about what other people think of them, they are more independent-minded.

Europe is not a society of "losers" and "winners" like in the US and East Asia. What makes you respected is your education, your behaviour, your manners or general knowledge, your kindness, your talent, possibly even your lineage (e.g. nobility), BUT not your money or your job title. Here ministers, who have special car plates, change their car plates to normal ones for discretion's sake (they put their ministerial plate behind the windscreen when parked in areas reserved for government cars to prove their identity). I think it reflects well this difference of mentality. In East Asia, modesty is usually valued, but when it comes to money, I was shocked to find out that showing off was not only okay, but almost necessary to gain people's respect.

09-01-2012, 12:48 PM	#24
HexcewlyRette Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 553 Senior Member	Well as you know I grow up in Australia and I am East Asian. The world that I grow up with has always been materialistic, and as my education is mainly done in Australia, vast majority of our textbooks come from the US. I have lived 6 months in Australia, and all I can say is that I see it as a small version of the US South (Queensland would be Florida, and the rest would be mostly Texas, California and what's in between). I noticed that North-East Asians are much closer to the Americans than the Europeans, for their materialism, self-centrism, ignorance of the world, emphasis of education to get a job rather than to form the mind and give the passion to learn, etc. These are countries where money make your respected, while in Europe people try to hide their money so as not to engender envy, jealousy and troubles. In the USA, Australia and East Asia, people's aim in life is to be rich, get married and have children; in Europe it is to be happy, with or without being riched or being married. Let's say that Europeans have a much more philosophical approach and value more quality of life over symbols and status. In a sense, Europeans care less about what other people think of them, they are more independent-minded. Europe is not a society of "losers" and "winners" like in the US and East Asia. What makes you respected is your education, your behaviour, your manners or general knowledge, your kindness, your talent, possibly even your lineage (e.g. nobility), BUT not your money or your job title. Here ministers, who have special car plates, change their car plates to normal ones for discretion's sake (they put their ministerial plate behind the windscreen when parked in areas reserved for government cars to prove their identity). I think it reflects well this difference of mentality. In East Asia, modesty is usually valued, but when it comes to money, I was shocked to find out that showing off was not only okay, but almost necessary to gain people's respect.
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