Americans have been Bad in Every Way They Could Think Of

But there were some ways they deliberately overlooked, and this has saved them.

One of these ways they retained from Industrialization - the ability to organize themselves as machines. To decide on a goal, and make it happen. But this goal has to be capable of being measured numerically, in numbers. Which severely limits the kinds of goals (or projects) that are possible. 

I will illustrate with an example from my own life.

I share a house with Ray, who lives in most of our house, but I rent the apartment in the back of the house from him. He rents the entire house from a woman who had lived here - but returned to the States, and now only visits here occasionally.

Recently, she decided to sell the house. Which meant Ray and myself,  would have to look for somewhere else to live. She offered to sell it to Ray, and gave him a good price for it. At first, this seemed impossible, because Ray did not have this much money.

But he made a huge effort, and assembled a package of financial arrangements that satisfied her. He now owned the house! 

I could not survive, it it were not for Ray. He took charge, during my recent medical crisis. He found a Neurologist, who diagnosed my Drop Attack problem, and negotiated with him, in Spanish, to give me a lower cost medication.

This was the kind of project he was good at. But he cannot be a personal friend for me - and doesn't want to be. This is not one of the things he can do.