Is it the government, the culture, or something else? Why are nearly all the world’s biggest companies American?
Posted by Patrick_walkerr@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 155 comments
Apple, Google, Microsoft, Tesla, Amazon, Meta, Nvidia, OpenAI, Anthropic… the list keeps going. Almost every company that has shaped the modern world was founded in the US.
Other countries have smart people, good universities, and strong economies too. But somehow the biggest companies keep coming from one place, America
What do Americans do differently that the rest of the world hasn’t been able to replicate?
Profopol@reddit
A lot of comments talk about entrepreneurial spirit and policy which are factors, but the main reason they get so big is access to capital. No company can compete on that scale unless they have access to American markets in the first place. We could have the same policy and ethos, but if we were the size of Australia or Norway there’s just no chance for a corporation to grow that large in those markets.
countrysurprise@reddit
Im sure you could make similar lists over European and Asian companies?
BoBoBearDev@reddit
There are many reason like tax, culture, etc. But from my first gen immigrant perspective, it is because I can get a SFH with 2 car garage for fraction of the cost compared to my home country. And it is so much easier to get a better paying job with the same skillset and work ethics. So, it is a double win. This attracts a lot of talents, regardless they are like brainiac or not.
musaXmachina@reddit
I’ve read we don’t have a lot of govt restrictions relative to other countries so companies can innovate faster.
DrGeraldBaskums@reddit
The old saying is most of the worlds business regs tell you what you are allowed to do while US laws tell you what you can’t do. It’s a huge distinction.
BananaJelloXlii@reddit
And exploit workers more
coronarybee@reddit
We scorn tall poppy syndrome
Artistic-Amoeba-8687@reddit
Met this guy who moved to USA from Australia and he said the same thing. Our culture encourages striving in a way Australia does not. It is what makes achieve great things 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (and what makes stressed and miserable in a lot of ways too).
Littleboypurple@reddit
I remember when an Aussie guy asked us about the prevalence of Tall Poppy Syndrome in the US where it is exists but, not as very prevalent as Australia
ICanSeeNow17@reddit
It's the striving and a culture of excellence(in some places) in the US. I've traveled throughout the Americas, Europe and North Africa. None of the cultures has such an emphasis on striving or excellence like America. It really comes down to culture.
Financial-Sweet-4648@reddit
Yep. We need better systems. But I have no issue with our culture. They see our culture as “selfish individualism.” They don’t get it. Sure, we value individualism, but scorning Tall Poppy Syndrome is about lifting one another up when one of us takes a risk or reaches high. We want each other to succeed.
ZozicGaming@reddit
The part I always find funny is the same Europeans who shit on us for our selfish individualism. Don't even think about the effect of taking weeks of vacation off at a time will have on their coworkers and the organization as a whole. No one would even blink if you just randomly decided to take a 2 week vacation right before a major deadline. Yet if you tried that in the US your boss would tear you a new asshole. Because you would be royally screwing your coworkers.
Financial-Sweet-4648@reddit
Right. In work culture, I would say that the cultures who are most critical of us practice “radical individualism.” I’m sure it’s healthy for the individual. But the Europeans I know, as well as Aussies, will often time their vacations for the most difficult times, which yes, would put their coworkers in a real bind. I don’t have a super firm position on this. I see pros and cons. But I can say: I wouldn’t do this to the people relying on me. I time my short vacations for the “slow periods.”
-thegay-@reddit
Australia is also an individualistic society, though. Most of the west is. Collectivist societies tend to be eastern societies (Asia, east Europe, parts of Africa). Australia scores a 90 on the scale. America is 91.
Financial-Sweet-4648@reddit
Have you been there, man?
Australia does a strange thing. They aren’t actually egalitarian, though they’ll parrot about being egalitarian all day. In fact, they have a far-right party called One Nation rising really fast because they’re not actually egalitarian at all and their younger generations are struggling badly. Their superwealthy are very powerful and are walking all over the people and government.
But the common people? They yank each other down like crabs in a bucket endlessly. It’s really bad. It’s done subtly, explicitly, casually, whichever way they can slide it in best.
Can an Aussie be an individual? As in: can they like Dungeons & Dragons? Can they be LGBTQ? Can they cosplay as anime characters? Can they protest fossil fuel consumption? Yes. Of course. But if a commoner tries to start a business or better themselves, everyone around them will deploy “safety rhetoric” and question their choice and tell them it’s risky, or flat-out socially police them. I’ve seen it many, many, many times.
So the way it works is: the people who want to become wealthy and powerful just ignore the TPS and rise, and gain tons of power. But most common people who try to take a risk get policed back into place. They get their heads chopped off so they can’t grow higher than the other poppies. In America, if a regular person says “Hey, I want to take this huge risk and start a business” or whatever, everyone around them encourages them and tries to lift them up and chip in if they can. It’s a MASSIVE difference.
-thegay-@reddit
The IDV score is not based on factors of personal identity. It is based on citizen reported data from surveys about things like their personal freedoms, individual achievements, job security, group loyalty, etc.
If you think Americans are not yanking one another down, I invite you to visit any other social media app (or to dig into different subs on this one). My aunt started a grab and go bakery and faced similar social hurdles to the ones you’re describing. Americans are not, by and large, class jumping, and do not always support one another. We’re like inches from a civil war right now.
You’re speaking in blanket statements, which hurts your credibility.
Financial-Sweet-4648@reddit
“It is based on citizen-reported data.”
You will seldom find an Aussie who will do anything other than parrot how famously “fair” and “egalitarian” their society is. They practice what I’d call “nationalism via implied superiority.” They aren’t overtly nationalist. But they have cultural groupthink. If a non-Aussie questions an aspect of the culture, they will lockstep and start policing that person and deploy all of their cultural myths like a script (egalitarianism, Fair Go, etc).
They’ll be sure to note how superior they are to Americans, too. That’s a staple inclusion. Many of them loathe us. So I’d say that data is not quite reliable. I’ve spent years there. I have seen the reality of their society and culture beyond the national myths.
I speak in blanket statements because Australia is a very different cultural landscape in intra-sub-culture diversity terms than America. Australia is much more assimilated than we are. My partner is in her 50s and lived her whole life in Australia. She could fly from Melbourne to Darwin and not experience any “jarring” cultural shift. If you grow up in NYC and then fly to Mississippi, you will experience a jarring cultural shift. It’s harder to “blanket statement” Americans.
Not sure what’s going on in West Virginia (though I understand it can be rough), but I’ve lived in the Deep South, Midwest, far West, and smack in the middle of the east coast, and I’ve lived in Oz. I’ve never witnessed Americans deploying Tall Poppy Syndrome at a scale that even registers in comparison to what I witnessed in Australia.
I’m not sure if you just hate your country so much that you are trying to discredit me, or if you’ve somehow put Australia on some weird pedestal, but Australia has very very excellent governmental systems compared to us, and a suppressive social culture where policjng and flattening of people are par for the course. That’s just the truth.
-thegay-@reddit
It’s a leap to go from me explaining that Australia is also an individualistic society, which you claimed is a mostly uniquely American thing, to I hate my country. You sound like a believer in American exceptionalism, which is an immature and ethnocentric approach to the analysis of any other country.
America and Australia are different in many ways, but we both emphasize individual experiences. They share no borders and were settled more slowly, which will obviously slow and reduce diversity and the spread of their own cultures within their borders, but neither is a collectivistic country.
If that wasn’t what you meant to be discussing, use different terminology.
Financial-Sweet-4648@reddit
Check the final paragraph of my last response.
Also, you’re just not following me on this. You either can’t or won’t. But I appreciate the conversation. Have a good one.
Usuf3690@reddit
It's mix, government, culture.
Financial-Sweet-4648@reddit
Yes we fucking do.
Entropy907@reddit
U.S. — there’s no ceiling, but there’s no floor, either.
Financial-Sweet-4648@reddit
Truth. I’m too close to the floor for my liking these days. That’s why I note the need for more effective state systems. We really need to improve the systems.
bigbadcat13@reddit
The United States didn’t have to rebuild after the world wars. All we had to do was retool after the wars ended instead of totally rebuild. So in a way we had a 50 year head start on the entire developed world. And bc we were so advanced we attracted the most brilliant people in the world which added to American advancements.
Acceptable_Noise651@reddit
We rebuilt Europe after ww2 through the Marshal plan, creating industries and modernizing countries there.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Plan
ZeroQuick@reddit
And Japan too.
carry_the_way@reddit
Most of the biggest non-American companies got reckt by WWII, and the American companies got pissed at having to pay taxes, so they bought the US govt. Having the world's heaviest-armed, best-funded military at your disposal and its most powerful government under your thumb means you can get as big as you want.
The US isn't more capable or more intelligent than anyone; we've just never had our infrastructure bombed to shit and white people are too convinced they're temporarily embarrassed millionaires to keep our corporations from being too powerful.
rextiberius@reddit
De toquville put it pretty well in his book, Democracy in America: the American system and American culture values extremes in a way the old world cultures don’t. Europe (and by extension all European satellite cultures like Australia) encourage safety and group prosperity, while America encourages individuals, even if the result is tyrannical.
All of these companies exist only because someone else has been trod upon. This is the ugly side of American culture, we strive to greatness, and then excuse the misdeeds of anyone who becomes “great”
Loud_Inspector_9782@reddit
We excel in creativity. We are also very competitive.
OhThrowed@reddit
Well, one thing we do is reward the heck out of people who take a risk on a good idea.
macrocosm93@reddit
This. America isn't perfect by any means, but one thing I think we do better than probably any country is encourage and reward entrepreneurship.
ATLien_3000@reddit
It's not complicated. Let people keep their money.
There - you have a reward system.
aksers@reddit
At the detriment of everyone else. Great idea.
Powersmith@reddit
With the serious exception of healthcare. Many people stay in jobs for HC rather than pursue risky entrepreneurial ventures, esp if they, spouse, or child has any kind of condition needing ongoing health support.
macrocosm93@reddit
Healthcare is fucked because private health insurance is an inherently flawed and untenable system.
Gertrude_D@reddit
To the detriment of other aspects of society, IMO. You can hit it really big, but if you don't, pray you have a stable job with no real speed bumps in your life.
edman007@reddit
Yup, I think the medical situation is a good one, we have one of the most expensive healthcare systems in the world. I think a big part of it is how the healthcare rules work together. If I'm sick, they have to keep me alive, I can't be turned away, even if that's a million dollar treatment is required to keep me alive.
So the flip side is if I work developing meds, well when I do figure out something that genuinely cures people, well I get to patent it, then sell it for whatever price I feel like (even if it costs me pennies to make), and well everyone just has to pay me when these sick people stroll into the ER. So I have a HUGE incentive to find those cures. To a large extend, much of the rest of the world's healthcare system relies on this, Americans pay an exorbitant amount for healthcare, which strongly incentivizes development of great care, and then the rest of the world gets to use it without really paying the development cost.
NeverRarelySometimes@reddit
They only have take emergency measures to keep you alive in the short term. They have no compulsion to treat your chronic condition; ER will not treat your cancer or put you on routine dialysis.
Patrick_walkerr@reddit (OP)
Do you think it’s more about the financial reward, or the cultural acceptance of failure too?
OhThrowed@reddit
How are you gonna ever succeed if you're afraid to fail?
southernjezebel@reddit
If you didn’t think failure could equate to destitution, you wouldn’t be afraid to try.
abetterlogin@reddit
my problem right here.
o93mink@reddit
Yes
bluerog@reddit
Even bad ideas pay out sometimes if someone works hard enough. "Let's invite millions of people to get in cars with strangers for a price." "Let's rent out my house to strangers for a few days "
writekindofnonsense@reddit
No we don't. We reward people who already have money that can afford to be wrong
Powersmith@reddit
Fair point. Both are rewarded, it’s just a heck of a lot easier/less personally stressful and risky to pursue a dream if you got family money.
abetterlogin@reddit
Reddit doesn’t like to hear things like this but the answer is capitalism.
PowerfulFunny5@reddit
Also consider the impact of geography. The US is blessed with perhaps the best overall quantity of natural resources from ores to agriculture, all combined in an area that’s difficult for most other countries to invade, so America can steadily grow while others rebuild.
Uhhh_what555476384@reddit
The US may be the single most geographically blessed country on the planet.
mobyhead1@reddit
OldBlueKat@reddit
We were the biggest economy on the planet, by a long distance, for DECADES after WWII. The dollar became the default currency world currency. We helped a lot of other countries rebuild from absolute rubble in the years after that. It gave us a big lead in growing for a long time. We had a lot of agricultural and mineral resource advantages, too. Some historians say the 19th century was British (think Empire, colonies, India, etc.) and the 20th century was American, but it’s likely (because of population and economics) the 21st century will end up being Asian (China and India), with Africa growing into the back stretch next.
Cyber_Punk_87@reddit
Lack of regulation. Government kickbacks (“tax subsidies” and ridiculous government contracts that charge 10-20x what things actually cost). A whole lot of nepotism. Oh, and they hire/exploit cheap labor from countries where the actual smart people are to do much of the work.
Equivalent_Party706@reddit
We have, or had, a number of advantages.
We had a big head start on the rest of the world thanks to the World Wars: the US gained the international cachet of winning those wars and the economic boost of funding those wars but none of the devestation of being the target of those wars.
America has a lot of wealth, both in natural resources and an educated and free population.
America has been relatively politically stable: people haven't been fleeing the US in the face of political purges or terrors.
The US has had an immigration policy and culture of pluralism that has allowed steady population growth and a constant influx of the best and brightest from other countries.
The US has favorable trade relationships with almost everyone, allowing the above benefits to compound quickly.
The US has a strong culture of entreprenureal spirit and adventurism that leads to a lot of dramatic success stories.
Of course, almost all of these traits are explicitly opposed by the tyrant and his stooges, so we'll see how we're doing a decade from now.
UpbeatPhilosophySJ@reddit
In the United States, it’s pretty easy to build a giant company as long as you have the capital. The government usually doesn’t breathe on your neck to suck the money away before it can blossom. It’s also a big country so you can start up a company and you have a giant labor pool to draw from.
In my opinion, that’s why Canada, for example, doesn’t have huge new tech companies. They only have so many people.
In Europe, everyone speaks a different language, and even though the EU certainly helps notify labor issues, they inherently fear any company that gets big and has regulations that make hiring and firing a super pain in the ass compared to the United States. I dealt with paying sales people in Europe in the United States and oh my God the rules in Europe are fair to the workers, but they really aren’t conducive to us to hiring many people. In the US you can overhire (nobody appreciates that and they think it’s normal) and layoff (you’re the devil) as you need it and you aren’t breaking the law.
ZozicGaming@reddit
Yeah the firing thing makes European work culture a huge pain. Because people will just straight up abuse their protections. But they don't see it as a huge problem because thats just the work culture. Everybody does it including management. Like I have friend working in france and he is by far one of the most productive employees. Simply because be works when he is supposed to be working. Unlike his coworkers who waste at least half their shift socializing and taking a 2 hour lunch everyday.
CurlingLlama@reddit
The American dream is a genuine belief that our friends/family/neighbors/selves are capable of entrepreneurial success beginning in their garage/art room/basement music studio.
America never had an entrenched social/wealth class structure. We believe anyone is capable of becoming a multi millionaire and love cheering for someone’s success.
We encourage “outside the box” thinking and cheer for underdogs - failure is just a lesson on the pathway to success.
BananaJelloXlii@reddit
"The reason it is called the American Dream is because you have to be asleep to believe it"
--George Carlin
Kman17@reddit
America has a super business friendly environment.
It’s easy to start companies (to hire and fire), it’s high reward for succeeding, the legal system protects IP / incentivizes startups, and it’s a big singular market with a wealthy customer base with disposable income.
I mean, let’s compare it to other places.
Europe is the logical equivalent. But Europe is heavily socialized, heavily regulated, and has tons of localization issues. If you want to hire someone, it’s high risk because it’s almost impossible to fire them. Want to start a disruptive business like uber? Too bad, you’ll get shutdown by worker protection lobbies. Something work in the Netherlands? Cool, but to sell in Spain you’ll need to retranslate everything you do and adopt to a different culture.
So Europe ends up doing really good research and highly iterative precision engineering, but they suck at bootstrapping stuff.
Asia? Asia is booming and produces a ton. But IP theft is rampant there - the systems don’t protect and reward the innovators, they reward people that produce the cheapest.
There’s a lot poverty too - China & India might have 5x the population of the USA, but their citizenry isn’t educate at as high a rate
Hierarchical cultures / values also tend to inhibit thinking “outside the box”.
Latin America? High potential, yeah, but their institutions aren’t on par with North America / Europe / Asia. They’ve had a lot of currency stability issues.
The UK, Australia, Canada benefit a bit from being able to sell into the U.S…. but ultimately America is the bigger opportunity, so things that start there often end up moving here.
Outlaw_Josie_Snails@reddit
We have an "if at first you don't succeed, try again" culture.
We encourage startup companies, and we have venture capitalists and investors. Our risk tolerance is different; we do not have the same stigma regarding a failing business that other countries have.
We are also good at mergers and acquisitions, including buying companies in other countries.
WittyCombination6@reddit
I think a lot of great answers on why American businesses are structured the way they are but the meat of the issue is the USA is the world's largest economy at 14% of global GDP and the global reserve currency. It is an inevitably that if you want to do anything regarding international trade you will have to do some business with the US . Even if your country is openly hostile against America.
Which places American companies have a significant advantage compared to other competitors.
BananaJelloXlii@reddit
Because they can get away with a lot more thank to massive tax cuts, gutting of worker's rights, deregulation of environmental protections and a corrupt government that puts corporate needs above the needs of those the government is supposed to represent.
Dragosal@reddit
Corporations are people too. The government has to represent them as well.and think about corporate needs too.
BananaJelloXlii@reddit
Why? Because some bullshit SCOTUS ruling gave them that designation so they could contribute massive amounts of campaign funds and form super PACs? Have you been fucking paying attention the last 16 years?
Tagin42@reddit
According to wiki 2 out of top 5 are us
DLS3141@reddit
Lots of them are subsidized by the government in any number of ways
Bright_Cattle_7503@reddit
Simplified answer: the smartest people in the world mixed with capitalism equals global brand expansion. The United States also has the most top universities in the world and it’s not even close. They attract people from all over the world to attend and they usually end up staying. Because America runs on a free market, there are less hurdles for companies taking off. In a lot of modernized countries, you can’t simply just take an idea and turn it into a business like you can in the US.
Apart_Insect_8859@reddit
I think it's more that we don't prefer super smart people (like Asia)
We prefer very well rounded, well socialized people who know a little bit about everything and are likable and outgoing. Super smart academic types tend to want to hole up and be isolated, which means few are any good at business, which requires risk, sales, and selling yourself.
Factory-town@reddit
"the smartest people in the world"
Chuckle.
Vast_Lemon7906@reddit
The smartest people around the world move to America and the highly intelligent Americans are already here. What's to chuckle about?
vanbrima@reddit
I think they meant educated. Definitely not the same thing as smart.
FaithlessnessEasy276@reddit
America rewards action more than education. Most of Europe one simply cannot succeed without the education paper. Here, good ideas & tenacity matters more. So the smartest, hardest working people can rise regardless of ability to get an education
MyTacoCardia@reddit
Don't worry, we counter it with also having the dumbest people in the world. Their number is legion.
94grampaw@reddit
We dont have the malnutrition rates to put us near the dumbest people in the world
oarmash@reddit
they’re not necessarily born here, but they do have a tendency to end up here.
The-Copilot@reddit
The US has the largest economy and many of the best universities in the world. This allows the US to attract the smartest people in the world.
Pretty_Original124@reddit
Doesn’t mean all those smart people are American. They say 2 sentences later how universities attract top global talent who end up staying. In the current climate maybe that trend will change, but I’d call it a fair statement and the implication of hubris there is misinterpreted.
Big-Profit-1612@reddit
We have both the smartest and dumb people in the world. I work at one of the top American companies and I'm surrounded by brilliant people. However, I have a ton of MAGA friends that are f'ing idiots.
Ceorl_Lounge@reddit
Yes, and some of the dumbest. It averages out, but our elite universities are absolutely world class.
0DarkFreezing@reddit
They’re right. They didn’t say the smartest people on the world are from the U.S. America has historically attracted some of the best, brightest, and most driven people from all around the world.
Note that a huge percentage of the most successful companies from the U.S. were founded by immigrants.
writekindofnonsense@reddit
We aren't smarter, we are less regulated and have a culture of stolen labor.
ComesInAnOldBox@reddit
The smart people from the rest of the world tend to come here, is what he means.
Latter-Energy1539@reddit
Capitalism, free speech, open-minded society, pro-smart immigrant.
I live in a socialist country, don't blow what you have got .
TheOwlMarble@reddit
We won both world wars without domestic infrastructure destruction and then won the Cold War. That set the US up extremely well for success in general, and then we went and made extremely pro-business tax laws.
UnexpectedPotater@reddit
One thing (this is only a small part of the overall) is that I think our education at the top levels is elite. There's a shitload of problems with public schools in many local areas, but if you look at top level public high schools in affluent areas or private high schools, there's a combination of high achievement in math/science along with a open mindedness and debate. For example starting calculus in 8th/9th grade but also having classes like debating current world issues, debate team, etc. This mindset continues into college.
Many countries either prioritize education but in a more rote way, and are more about rule following, or they are open minded/innovative but don't prioritize science and studying. I might be wrong (debate me if so!) but I think the US is genuinely rare (not the only one, but rare) for rewarding both innovation/free thinking as well as hard science.
Uhhh_what555476384@reddit
Yes!
The US is Continental in size. It has a culture that encourages entrepreneurship, or had. And, the US has deep capital markets so a successful business has easy access to wealth needed for growth.
AfterAllBeesYears@reddit
We celebrate success, so we don't cut people down when they are successful.
Failure also isn't ridiculed, as long as the person gave it their all. Failure happens. It's not about how many times you get knocked down, it's about how many times you stand up again.
Drivo566@reddit
I mean, its not like there arent big companies based out of other countries....
Shell, BP, Unilever, Nestle, TSMC, Samsung, etc...
Typingdude3@reddit
1) We're 50 states with a common language. Not 50 countries with different languages. 2) Our tax structure and business friendly environment helps a lot 3) While much of the world was recovering from two world wars last century, America lured top scientists from other countries and built a super power military and space program. 4) Hollywood and things like Coca Cola, Disney. Levis, etc... took peoples minds off their mundane or even tragic lives, and still do to this day. 5) Americans are friendly and warm to most strangers because we're a melting pot. It helps build bridges. 6) Much of the world speaks our language to some degree. That helps a lot.
Successful-Pie4237@reddit
Reliable customer base. Americans are (generally) wealthy, capitalistic, and hyper-comsumerist. Add to that the fact that the dollar has been the most stable global currency over the past century and it's a great place to start a business or build your business bigger.
Juicey_J_Hammerman@reddit
The USA has almost a perfect storm of circumstances converging here that allowed for a lot of favorable conditions:
Basically lots of valuable and relatively easy to defend land and resources , a strong democratic government that can handle administration and law making without becoming authoritarian or unstable(so far at least), an educated and productive workforce from lots of backgrounds that can attract more people. It’s the equivalent of playing a grand strategy/4x game on ‘Easy’ mode.
Patrick_walkerr@reddit (OP)
Adding to my own post… even the biggest YouTuber in the world (MrBeast) is American. And YouTube gives everyone the same tools no matter where they are. So what is it really?
JoeInMD@reddit
That's an easy one. Where did YouTube start? Third most populated country in the world. That's not tool that a French or Afghani YouTuber has. Sure, there's YouTubers in China and India, but because YouTube is from the US, there was a big head start here. Add on to that internet availability in the US vs other countries over the last 20 years, and you can see that no, in fact, it wasn't an even playing field.
Lucky_otter_she_her@reddit
The biggest stock markets are there
essentially more capital keeps coalescing in America cuz the most capital is already coalesced there
andrew2018022@reddit
Brain drain from other countries, historically
Patrick_walkerr@reddit (OP)
Fair point. The US has been pulling top talent from everywhere for decades. But what makes them stay and build there instead of going back home?
OhThrowed@reddit
Contrary to what Reddit would have you believe... life doesn't suck here.
JoeInMD@reddit
This is the greatest comment I've ever read on Reddit, lol. I'm truly curious how many of the "I hate living in America" crowd has ever been elsewhere and seen the poverty, seen the lack of upward mobility, or seen the government restrictions on what you are or are not allowed to do.
9 years traveling the world in the Navy taught me that while it's not perfect here, it's about as close to perfect as exists on this planet.
andrew2018022@reddit
Same reason the pilgrims did, same reason my grandparents and millions of others who poured in through Ellis island did, same reason why people risk their lives to sneak across the desert to get here
It’s a popular sentiment here to call the US literally the devil, but at the end of the day it attracts entrepreneurs and visionaries. Land of opportunity🤷♂️ if you work hard you can make a solid life here
yonaiker-joestrella@reddit
Post war boom and having access to two oceans.
Ok-Energy-9785@reddit
All of the above
ATLien_3000@reddit
Low regulation and self selection.
All those other countries? Their entrepreneurial people have been moving to the US for over 100 years.
sep780@reddit
One part, in the US, companies can get away with paying the people actually making the product less than other wealthy countries allow. (Or doing other “menial labor”) Then charge as is they are paying higher labor costs, resulting in more money for profits and advertising.
Requilem@reddit
As much as everyone hates our social structure Capitalism plays a huge role.
Also most inventors are pretty diversified, they need investors and you find that in America.
Final point, all countries have advanced inventions but all governments take ownership of inventions if they can in any way be used in warfare. Everything we have in society is 20+ year old tech. As a civilization we are much more advanced than we realize, but this is the side of the government that very few people ever realize. Look at for example TVs, we have tech that they can be mats that roll up, almost indestructible, can be hundreds of feet long with a much lower process demand. The problem is all those new features are classified at military grade and to be released to consumers they have to stay at military cost. You are it in cars as well.
UpbeatPhilosophySJ@reddit
I’m reminded of the people, especially in Europe, who demanded Starlink be nationalized just because they didn’t want to get forced to help in a war.
In a moment, it might feel good to stick it to the billionaire, but big picture that’s a really dumb idea.
Dellguy@reddit
American VC and Banking investors have wayyy higher risk tolerance. Willing to loose millions and millions to get a home run.
dabup@reddit
Everyone wants to live in America, it's like the capital of the world. Everyone else is almost irrelevant.
It's also the most populated or at least one of the most populated countries.
It's also a lot of popular culture and innovation that gets exported around the world, like is there an internation social media company that anyone can name in a different country? I can only think of Chinese one I've heard of but never used.
There's also this whole "you can do anything" mentality and the vibes have a big impact I think but idk
No_Peach6683@reddit
China and India have more people
Factory-town@reddit
"Everyone wants to live in America"
Obviously not everyone understands absolute terms.
SnooGadgets676@reddit
Something I haven’t seen mentioned yet is that the United States has an extremely long history of dispossession, disenfranchisement, and social marginalization and the U.S. was at one point the world leader in oppressing people of African descent. Success and striving are the foundation of oppressed groups efforts at securing not only our “piece of the pie” but they are how various groups like women, immigrants, minorities, and LGBT people protect our communities and demand the respect we believe we deserve. It’s like Beyoncé said, “The best revenge is your paper.” This is why entrepreneurship and risk-taking are so highly valued among minorities
SquareTaro3270@reddit
Lobbying.
Lobbying (legal bribery) means less regulations on big businesses, meaning they can grow massive and corrupt and the government will just hand them more and more power on a platter in exchange for a slice of the pie
We value our corporations more than we value our actual citizens.
manicpixidreamgirl04@reddit
- Taking risks is encouraged.
- We have the philosophy that if you want something done, you should do it yourself.
- We put emphasis on developing leadership skills.
SteadfastEnd@reddit
A lot of the other nations, like Europe, have so much red tape that a big company like Amazon just couldn't take off there.
SmellGestapo@reddit
First I must point out that most of the companies you mentioned are Californian. So it isn't just a uniquely American thing, it's also a uniquely Californian thing.
One thing we do well here is education. 16 years after becoming a state California passed a compulsory education law for children up to 14. Today, we have more then 600 colleges and universities, more than any other state or country. Germany has more than twice our population but only 420 colleges. The UK only has 300.
California graduates more engineers than any other state. This helped create the modern tech industry, as the US Department of Defense invested a lot of money into both Bay Area and Southern California tech and defense companies, which had the talent. Also, in 1979 the federal government allowed private pension funds to invest their retirees' money into startups, which benefitted many Silicon Valley ventures.
California and America are also very tolerant of risk and failure. This is not the case in many other countries. You can fail at business here and nobody will bat an eye, and that motivates people to keep trying until they find success. We also have laws that assist with this, like bankruptcy law which ensures that you won't go broke if you fail. We also have patent laws that ensure your brilliant invention won't immediately be copied. This encourages people to invest in research and development.
Finally, we have historically had a very permissive immigration policy.
Over time I think all of this has created a self-reinforcing cycle. If you are an ambitious person, no matter where in the world you are, you can come to America, and come to California, and get a great education, get a high paying job at one of these big companies you mentioned, then leave and start your own company with unmatched access to capital, and if you fail you just declare bankruptcy, wipe your debts clear, and start over.
cmiller4642@reddit
A lack of regulations and the fact that corporations can donate money to political campaigns
pickledplumber@reddit
If the lack of regulation is a cause, then you'd imagine countries with even less regulations would be far more prosperous. But that's not true
smokingcrater@reddit
US regulations are quite strict in most fields, and most countries allow corporations to make political donations.
Fencer308@reddit
Strong partnership between capital investment and new business ventures is a big piece of it. Part of it is also first mover advantages resulting in the US benefitting from other countries’ brain drain. And finally there’s a business friendly tax and regulatory requirement, which obviously also has its downsides.
Significant-Track797@reddit
It’s the laws and the tax structure.
Slight-Big8584@reddit
and the proximity to influence the country which has the most influence in world affairs, and proximity to have the country fight for your interests.
No shade, above is just benefits.
fightmilk42@reddit
Bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Slight-Big8584@reddit
I'd posit the proximity bonus only really got going until after the Cold War, when the global economy could really become interconnected at a consumer level.
Thats the way economics work. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_effect
Ok_Let_7612@reddit
And a massive internal market that all speaks the same language .. makes scaling up a lot easier… a lot of European companies come to the USA for that reason
Ethanhuntknows@reddit
Americans have always taken whatever they wanted without taking no for an answer. It is that gung-ho, can-do attitude that creates great companies.
This approach also is great at setting the framework for a culture of stealing, robbing and killing from those who have stuff you want, in order to make money.
houdini31@reddit
For one thing we are the world's largest consumable market
Unusual_Form3267@reddit
It's the American way. America gets a bad rep, but at it's core, we were founded by people leaving oppressive traditions. We encourage people to thrive as individuals vs the community. (There are definitely pros and cons to this.)
It's the culture, and everything is built around the culture.
Traditions can be great, but not at the expense of innovation. We encourage people to build themselves up however they can. Anyone in America always has the opportunity to start over and reinvent themselves. You can fail 100 times, and you can still be a success story. That's the real American dream.
That, and capitalism really pushes competition. People hate on capitalism like it's evil. It's not evil. The concept of the free market is great. The problem now is that we don't actually currently have a free market, we just think we do. Right now, we're trapped under an oligarchy in disguise.
soumya_98@reddit
America values merit, skill, and talent. If you have the ability and drive, you can rise to become a CEO, rather than simply inheriting the role through family connections. That’s why no other country in the world can truly be like the United States.
sourcreamus@reddit
Labor laws which making quick hiring and business expansion possible.
Due_Satisfaction2167@reddit
The US financial system and general friendliness towards business. The US makes it extremely easy to start a business and borrow money, and used to spend a ton on building its scientific-industrial complex to bring in the best minds from all over the world who would in turn get pulled into US businesses that made buckets of money.
The US abandoned all that because of racism and Jesus, and now China is taking its place.
procrasstinating@reddit
One of the best countries for bankruptcy law and corporate restructuring. Also really easy to start a company. This allows people to try new things easily without a big penalty if it fails.
madogvelkor@reddit
We didn't wreck ourselves in 2 world wars like Europe.
Also the US has a very favorable corporate environment that makes it east to start companies. And access to cheap capital through both banks and an investing public that will buy stocks unlike most of the rest of the world.
Part of that is cultural, investing seen as a path to wealth. When I was 17 I had a couple thousand dollars in stocks even though I was working minimum wage and living with my parents.
The other part is our mediocre public retirement system (social security) and favorable tax laws encourage people to invest in private retirement accounts. There is an estimated $10 trillion in people's individual retirement accounts. That's money that is mostly invested in stocks. In comparison the combined size of all European stock markets is $15 trillion --- just what people have invested for retirement in the US is 2/3rds of the value of all investments in Europe.
writekindofnonsense@reddit
Since the 1980s we have been systematically deregulating banks and large corporations to increase profits and decrease labor costs. The EU protects its citizens from capitalist overreach but the US has done the opposite. Uber Capitalists since Reagan have pushed the ability of the wealthy to funnel more money to the top of a corporation faster and with less oversight than anywhere else. Except for maybe the UAE or Saudi Arabia.
Maleficent_Carrot508@reddit
Obviously a big part is our business friendly climate and tax structure, universities etc, but there’s a historical side too: It is almost impossible to overstate the impact of WWII.
The post-industrial information economy emerged in a world where the United States was booming while Europe was literally rebuilding civilization brick by brick. This had generational ramifications and gave the US a critical mass that has been sustained/widened by policy and culture.
Past_Worker_8262@reddit
Economic policies
No_Importance_750@reddit
Our culture is very much build around entrepreneurship and taking risks
5hellback@reddit
Capitalism.
HelpfulLoquat8658@reddit
Lax government restrictions and strong work ethic. Also helps that our companies pay the most.
Neither-Wonder-3696@reddit
It’s our infrastructure/geographic luck. Aside from Hawaii, our country didn’t suffer too much damage from WWII since we’re across the Atlantic. From there, our GDP exponentially increased and then we had one of the most powerful economies, which enabled the development of these big companies, basically.
Also, we allow for corporations to donate to political campaigns and to lobby. Politicians then vote/write bills that align with corporate interests, allowing the billionaires and shareholders to get whatever they want and need.
Outside_Complaint755@reddit
American imperialism, gunboat diploma y + vast natural resources that had barely been tapped going into the 20th century, as opposed to Europe being at war throughout most of the 19th century.
Also benefitted from suffering almost no direct damage during World War II, so instead of having to rebuild the US, American companies got to help rebuild Europe, Japan, etc. United States government is also directly subsidized and supported corporations and their global reach, including overthrowing other sovereign governments to the benefit of US corporations. The term Banana Republic comes from the US overthrowing the governments of Honduras and Guatemala for the benefit of United States fruit companies.
Crying_in_99Ranch@reddit
The US is also the largest consumer economy in the world. This leads to high salaries and high potential to earn money from entrepreneurship.
But it's also immigration. The best minds from across the world come to the US for school, research, and jobs. A lot of tech jobs in Silicon Valley were built off of the minds of immigrants.
Gertrude_D@reddit
The US doesn't prioritize customer protections and they do prioritize people with money. big companies get bigger because it's easy to buy our government to rig it so they continue to get bigger with no one to tell them no.
Grunt08@reddit
Part is concentration of capital. We have a lot of money, we use it to make more money, and that scales.
Another big part of it is that Europe has, at a policy level, prioritized regulation over innovation to a degree that makes creating anything comparable next to impossible.
SabresBills69@reddit
A combination of things….
most new ideas have come out of research universities do,many from around the world have come for university education. Some have chose to stay in the USA after education.
friendlier tax/ business rules
laws tend to be more business friendly
hire/ fire and bankruptcy codes are easier
5 corporate law tend to shield individually responsible from what was done as a company
dnext@reddit
Education, pro-business, pro-education. America's primary education system is of widely divergent success, but it's university system is definitely one of the best in the world, and for a long time attracted the best minds.
The perfect example is Google. An American born student (Larry Page) and a Russian born student (Sergey Brin) met at one of the best universities in the world, Stanford, and realized that they had an innovative idea that led to Google.
America is a case of extremes. We do a lot of things really well, and a lot of things pretty piss poor. The high end is very high, the low end can be pretty awful.
But now we are having a backlash over what we've done successfully in the past, we pro-nativists becoming anti-immigration and anti-education.
CFBCoachGuy@reddit
There are plenty of giant companies not based in the US. Aramco, Volkswagen, Chinese state owned companies, Shell, Vitol, Trafigura, Samsung, Toyota, BP, etc.
All the companies you listed sans Microsoft and Amazon come from Silicon Valley. Look up agglomeration economics.
groundhogcow@reddit
There is a cultural element that is hard to describe.
There is a knowledge element that everyone wants in on.
There is an innovation element they write books about.
There are legal elements that are constantly fighting.
It's not one thing but it's several things working together. For more information, please send me $1.
P00PooKitty@reddit
If your company is only domestic, its in a market of 330m+ people. Then you have mexico and canada next door, that’s another 160m—so already you have access to half a billion people. Not that hard to make a leap from there
Aromatic_Acadia_8104@reddit
Access to capital/funding for startups and more willingness to take risks
throwaway58052600@reddit
lobbying (legal bribery) is pretty much the reason here. representatives elected to represent the people don’t actually base their decisions on what the people want, they make their decisions on whoever gives them the biggest check
hamiltrash52@reddit
Unchecked capitalism, lack of government oversight in businesses, lack of heavy taxes on businesses, hiring practices, and old education institutes.
p0bert@reddit
We treat corporations better than citizens.
notthegoatseguy@reddit
There's a bunch of others, but they're almost all in China and only operate there.
Basically once you build the foundation its really hard for others to catch up.
In the off chance someone else does, they usually get purchased like how Facebook purchased WhatsApp
Imaginary-Fact3668@reddit
We greatly benefited economically from the two world wars.
Drunk_Lemon@reddit
The US invests heavily in ensuring that the US is a great place for the rich.
BananaMapleIceCream@reddit
Ya’ll have healthcare. We have tax breaks for the billionaires.
Appropriate-Food1757@reddit
All of the above really.