I had a pretty good idea of the people he was referring to but it really took a particular comment on the video to fill in the whole (mostly?) picture. And it rang true in my estimation. Here is that comment.
By obbkiker6861
I am a direct descendant of the people he is referencing in the video but with a significant German ancestry. Growing up in southern Appalachia, one could see the distinct cultural differences. The German people planned and worked toward future.
The British and Scots would slow or stop work when they had enough. It is my opinion that it was not sloth or laziness but rather a fatalist mentality common among poor. Why should I work and strive to lay aside for the future when it can or will be taken from me? This may well have been a cultural holdover from experiences in England and Scotland. We see this attitude in modern cultures in both the poor south and intercity inhabitants.
I read an account of a German in Ireland during the famine that amounted to "if these Irish would stop whining, they'd have plenty to eat, just as I do."
German industriousness is strange, considering the HRE didn't go down in history as having major technological, political, or economic breakthroughs, compared to Italy or England.
The fact that the Germans and Japanese accomplished as much as they did in the 19th century is a testament to their national character. Sowell has a chapter in this book just on the Germans, but it's really just an excerpt from his book "Immigration And Culture" in which he goes in insane detail about just how the Germans were able to make such a massive accomplishment during the industrial revolution.
Doesn't hurt when you've got Bismark on your side, either.
I had a pretty good idea of the people he was referring to but it really took a particular comment on the video to fill in the whole (mostly?) picture. And it rang true in my estimation. Here is that comment.
I read an account of a German in Ireland during the famine that amounted to "if these Irish would stop whining, they'd have plenty to eat, just as I do."
German industriousness is strange, considering the HRE didn't go down in history as having major technological, political, or economic breakthroughs, compared to Italy or England.
The fact that the Germans and Japanese accomplished as much as they did in the 19th century is a testament to their national character. Sowell has a chapter in this book just on the Germans, but it's really just an excerpt from his book "Immigration And Culture" in which he goes in insane detail about just how the Germans were able to make such a massive accomplishment during the industrial revolution.
Doesn't hurt when you've got Bismark on your side, either.