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I think there is a fundamental difference in the psychology of Europeans and Americans which precludes their recognizing the causes and depth of their errors, much less correcting them.

In Europe, they still conceive of legitimate authority as descending from the government (top), to the bureaucracy (middle), and finally down to the people (bottom), basically welfare state serfdom, but serfdom nonetheless. The average European has to deal daily with insolent and abusive bureaucrats who make ours look like saints.

The reason ? After living in Europe for three years I concluded that they fundamentally view the people as servants of the government. In older times, before the death of any real European faith in a higher power, authority would have originated with G*d. Now, the apex of the pyramid is made up of petty bureaucrats and insanely corrupt politicians.

America is in no way perfect, but our conception of the proper social order is the opposite. To us, legitimate power descends from G*d to the people and then to a government made up of what we still like to think of as "public servants". In other words, in Europe power flows from north to south. Here we believe power should flow from south to north.

This is one reason the Europeans have never and probably will never really understand us nor be able to fully emulate our success. It would require of them a complete and genuine revolution in thought of which they are probably not capable, and which they would mightily fear.