I often had similar thoughts on the cultural differences between
Europeans and Americans, in particular the different risk taking
attitudes. We are talking statistics here and of course one cannot
overgeneralize, but on average it is a fact that Americans are a bit
less reluctant to move, drop a steady job to start a business, etc.
And, on average, Europeans who populated America were a bit more
adventurous. Perhaps he Italian diaspora to the US (I would say, 1880
to 1920) is a good example. There are many pre-1950 Italian novels
with examples of villages where the smartest young people left for the
hope of a better future in America. So perhaps Americans have it in
their genes to be more willing to accept risk for a given reward.
>I've observed the effect that Jacques discusses in the
>U.S. -- historically the less risk averse migrated West.
>In modern times one tends to see young people migrate
>to the less conservative coasts, esp. say New York,
>San Francisco, or L.A.
>
>What I think is at work is a "risk aversion" or "adventure
>embracing" gene (or genes). Migrating always has risks
>associated with attempting to survive in unknown environment.
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