Europe is irrelevant. By 2050 it's estimated that Europe will only account for 9% of the global GDP [1]. Down from 15% today. China will account for 20% of the GDP and India 15% by 2050.
I can not understand the Hacker News focus on European law given its declining prospects.
Meh. My money is in emerging markets. Not European malaise. Maybe its a great place to retire - but it certainly isn't leading the world in technology output. Where is your Amazon? Where is your Alibaba?
Where is your good quality food, vacation days, leaving-work-at-five-o'clock, unlimited sick leave, parental leave, social mobility, and happiness and life satisfaction?
"For me, Europe is more than just a single market. More than money, more than the euro. It was always about values." — President Jean-Claude Juncker, 2017 State of the Union Address.
The tiger which is chewing on my leg today will be dead in 20 years, so why should I worry about it?
The EU is the world's second largest economy in both straight GDP and GDP PPP. What it does today impacts the global marketplace. That is the point of the issue here.
Also your reasoning is flawed. Look at how tech companies bend over backwards to please Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, etc. Any large marketplace has an inertia of its own, and companies will always be willing to sell out their principles in order to ensure they lead in any decent-sized marketplace.
By that definition any country that is not china or india become less relevant. But the thing you're wrong about is that a relative decline does not automatically result in an absolute decline.
I can not understand the Hacker News focus on European law given its declining prospects.
1. https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/issues/economy/the-world-in-2050.h...