Why Some Smaller Cultures Do So Well

A Dutch tulip field.

Amsterdam is clearly one of the great cities of the world, and Holland one of the most successful countries. With only 16 million people, two-thirds of the country would be underwater were it not for the system of dams and pumping stations. The Dutch obviously have to cooperate with each other to survive. Reflecting that ethos, Amsteram is a precisely organized place with separate facilities for pedestrians, bikers, trams, cars, and boats on the many canals. You have to be very careful to respect the rights of the other “user groups,” but the Dutch have achieved a city that is not completely car-centric. The number of bikes is overwhelming, and they are aggressive, so perish the poor jogger who gets in their way!

Gasoline costs $6 to $7 a gallon, which discourages some driving. The fleet of cars tends to be much smaller in size than American cars obviously. We don't see any pickups or Suburbans. The government also imposes stiff registration fees. One taxi driver told us it could cost $150 a quarter to register a high-end Mercedes. So these are the ways the Dutch try to manage the automobile, and their overall energy consumption.

The city works well, with street cleaners and garbage trucks making carefully choreographed stops. There is even a guy with a small truck who picks up the garbage from the many small garbage cans and replaces the plastic bags. Imagine that happening in New York City!

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