Europäisch
Many countries in Europe have historically possessed a highly centralised society. Considering cities such as Paris, London, Rome, Madrid, Lisbon or Prague, then Germany's regional development in previous times has left the country with a rather different structure than, say France, Britain, Italy, Portugal and the Czech Republic.
When the Federal Republic of Germany was created, focus was also placed on further balances. Finances were, and still are, transferred amongst states and counties to support weaker regions. Since reunification, this process has, to the chagrin of many, been widened to include vast payments from everyone’s pockets to eastern states enabling rapid development of infrastructure. The idea was to persuade residents to stay where they lived, rather than continue to flock westwards.
Much has been done to level out the standard of living across the nation. Germany has one of the most peaceful societies in the world. Nowadays though, the systems on which a certain equality was built are crumbling. Cracks have appeared in education, trade unionism, social security and health.
The defining factor has long been wealth or the image of prosperity. The elbow society of today has cracks that reveal discrimination not so much along the lines of upbringing as in the above mentioned countries, as success, perceived or otherwise.
