Is America superior to Europe’s welfare states?

Do states that have well-developed social safety nets deal better with economic crises? It is said that anyone who loves risk and trusts in success prefers the American model. But there are other, darker reasons.

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The oases of the middle class in America are spacious, especially in the suburbs, in which the single-family houses are lined up like miles of pearl necklaces. As in the European bourgeoisie of yesteryear, success is often displayed with lush mansions and sprawling country estates. But even in the gentrified districts, prosperity is tangible. There, in the cities, it is also easiest to observe how close the material abundance and abysmal poverty in the USA can be to European eyes.

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