[lbo-talk] The Myth of Japan’s Failure - NYTimes.com

[Wojtek S]

Joanna: "2. What you see depends on where you look. There's Detroit,
and there's Manhattan."

[WS:] The problem is that Manhattan and similar places are palaces
amidst slums or places that are becoming slums - just like in the
Third World.  You do not see many slums in Western Europe.

In other words, it is not how the rich do, because they do well
everywhere, even in third World countries, but how the vast majority
of the population does.  The latter is what makes the difference
between the Third world and the First world. Unlike in Europe, the
vast majority in the United States either does not do well or is
getting these very fast. And it shows.

Wojtek