Hurrah for Ireland, Down with Greece

Victor Hanson has published an interesting column, comparing the national culture of Germany to that of Greece. Victor writes:

[O]ver the years I have developed an unscientific and haphazard — but often accurate — politically incorrect method of guessing whether a nation is likely to be perennially insolvent and wracked by corruption.

Do average passersby throw down or pick up litter? After a minor fender-bender, do drivers politely exchange information, or do they scream and yell with wild gesticulations? Is honking constant or sporadic? Are crosswalks sacrosanct? Do restaurant dinners usually start or wind down at 9 P.M.? Can you drink tap water, or should you avoid it? Do you mostly pay what the price tag says, or are you expected to pay in untaxed cash and then haggle over the unstated cost? Are construction sites clearly marked and fenced to protect pedestrians, or do you risk walking into an open pit or getting stabbed by exposed rebar?

To put these crude stereotypes more abstractly, is civil society mostly moderate, predicated on the rule of law, and meritocratic — or is it characterized by self-indulgence, cynicism, and tribalism?

I agree with Victor. There is such a moral phenomenon as “national character” or “national ethos.” Look at the difference between the election in Ireland yesterday and the last election in Greece. The Irish sent a message yesterday that they are willing to do whatever it takes, suffer through whatever austerity measures are imposed on them, to right their fiscal ship. In Greece, the people are turning to Syriza. That’s why people like Wilbur Ross are currently investing in Irish banks while there is a run on the banks in Greece and Spain.

Hurrah for Ireland! The Greeks can go to the devil.