WWIII

The Gilb and I had a discussion the other day about countries’ contributions to society (reading ATW’s post about the impact of Rubik’s Cube on his native Hungary reminded me of this). Basically the question we were trying to answer was:

What indispensable contributions have the nations of the Earth made to society?

(although at the time we worded it as “If you could wipe out each country of the planet one by one, what inventions/products/discoveries would you keep in the course of history?”)

Of course, the answers are highly subjective – what I think is indispensable you might not agree with, and of course you can argue that someone else from a different country would come up with those things instead. But for the sake of argument, let’s assume they don’t, i.e. if it was discovered/invented/produced by that country, no other country would have managed to replicate it instead.

So… here’s my take on things – please note I’ve not done any additional research, so I’ve used what limited general knowledge I have, and it’s very evident how remarkably ignorant I am of the contributions of the countries of the world, especially in areas such as philosophy and politics (and ashamedly, any contributions of the developing world). But, feel free to educate me.

Italy
Indispensable: Ancient Roman road/aqueduct knowledge, …?
Very nice to have: Famous Italian composers (e.g. Verdi, Rossini, Vivaldi, Puccini), famous Italian artists (e.g. Michelangelo, Raphael, Botticelli), Roberto Cavalli, grappa, Dante Alighieri, tagliatelle
Definitely dispensable: the entire post-WWII government, football antics, Italian pop music, vomitoriums

France
Indispensable: Pasteurisation, methode champenoise (for making champagne), Rene Descartes
Very nice to have: Brie, Camembert, the Louvre, gargoyles, croissants
Definitely dispensable: French pop music (yes, Peas), Jacques Chirac, closed-minded small-town French folk

UK
Indispensable: All of Newton’s work, a language that has managed to become globally accessible (even if not the most spoken), ..?
Very nice to have: Earl Grey (you’re surprised I didn’t put this under ‘indispensable’, aren’t you?), high tea, Tudor architecture, Shakespeare’s literature, Turner, Scotland, phrases such as “I can’t be arsed”, “ginga” and “minging”
Definitely dispensable: football thugs, responses such as “fantastic”, colonial slavery, those shit-hole hostels on Bayswater that look beautiful from the outside but are fucking awful on the inside, the Millennium dome

US
Indispensable: The internet, most computer hardware and software, resources spent on R&D in biosciences that attract bright foreign talent, consumerism (for the world economy’s sake)
Very nice to have: Model T Ford, Google, the moon landing, the World Trade Center (sorry, that’s a bad joke but I couldn’t resist), Scarlett Johansson, Hollywood gossip, hippie culture, The Simpsons
Definitely dispensable: George Bush, all foreign policy plus xenophobia, McDonalds, Utah, Ohio, Nebraska, Tom Cruise, CFCs and leaded petrol, American football, yaks, yams, American spelling, the Imperial measurement system

Iraq
Indispensable: zero, …?
Very nice to have: oil, …?
Definitely dispensable: Muslim fundamentalism, gender inequality

China
Indispensable: Nelson Mandela (cheesy, but if not for him, I’d have left this section blank!!!)
Very nice to have: Kung fu, Ming dynasty pottery, cheap labour (for some)
Definitely dispensable: disregard for the Kyoto protocol, unashamed courting of resource-rich developing nations, human rights abuses/exploitation


And I’ve left our little nation till last, because I’m extremely embarrassed at my inability to complete it adequately:

South Africa
Indispensable: Nelson Mandela (cheesy, but if not for him, I’d have left this section blank!!!)
Very nice to have: koeksusters, Madam & Eve, gold & diamonds & platinum & coal & uranium, fruit that tastes like fruit not just looks like it, extreme ironing, Ndebele art
Definitely dispensable: apartheid, crime, policies regarding Zimbabwe and healthcare, fake Tuscan architecture, the Gautrain, taxi driver behaviour



My choice of countries has been very westernised, I’m aware. I’d love to have included places like Ecuador, the Ivory Coast and Nepal, but I’m not educated enough on these nations even to attempt it. Anyone know any better?