<blockquote>'...Despite our great material wealth and high standard of living, people are groping for something that money cannot buy. As Walter Lippman said: "Our life, though it is full of things, is empty of the kind of purpose and effort that gives to life its flavor and meaning." '
- Admiral H. G. Rickover,
Thoughts on Man's Purpose in Life</blockquote>
Ireland:<blockquote>'As Gilligan sees it, Limerick's inhabitants are not prepared for an economic downturn. Young people are used to double-glazed windows, central heating and flat-screen TVs, and many of them have gotten used to doing their Christmas shopping in New York or Boston. "In the future, they'll have to be happy to have a roof over their heads," Gilligan says. And he prophesizes that they just might devote themselves to TV and alcohol because "there won't be much else left to do here." '
- Thomas Hüetlin,
Dell Departure Threatens to Cripple Limerick, 04/24/2009</blockquote>
Germany:<blockquote>'For the first time since World War II, Germany's middle class has been shaken to the core...
It is engineering companies in the German state of Baden-Württemberg and medical technology firms in Bavaria which are seeing their orders slump by 50 or 60 percent. At risk are the jobs created following the approach known as "flexible specialization," which aims to enable firms to be in a position to adjust quickly to a changing market environment. German companies have seen a real revolution over the last 15 years as a result of the flexible specialization approach and the "total quality management" philosophy...
Anglo-Saxon business buzzwords...'
- Heinz Bude,
The New Angst at the Heart of Germany, 04/24/2009</blockquote>