The 3 main categories of Romanian population today and their approach to Europe, PART 2

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The 3 main categories of Romanian population today and their approach to Europe

So, today in Romanian society we can find 3 main categories of population. (I exclude the ones who left abroad, for who we will talk another day):

1. The ones who have grabbed the opportunity and, based on the tremendous economic growth, they have entered the “capitalistic way of living”.

1. The ones who are in “transition”. Surprised with what happens around them, afraid of the high cost of living, they want to change their lives, they are “on the way” for this, but they still didn’t succeed. They see that something has changed, some of them are in the right path, but they are not sure for the future and sometimes even for themselves. They like “the goods of capitalism” but they are also very concerned and worried about what will happen the next years. Some of them will manage to enter the first category, but the majority will remain in the zone of “medium – medium low”. More or less they represent a 40% of the total population today, again with the percentages varying around the country.

1. • The discussions with people of this category can be extremely interesting, as you can discover real “treasures”, really special persons, who will surprise you with their education and opinions. Mainly here we see 3 ways of thinking about Europe:
   • Again a very serious part of people doesn’t really care about Europe or anything like this. For them its just what they will put in their pockets today and tomorrow. They will tell you the story about how difficult is life, but if you ask them a plan of their life for the next 2 years, you will receive a bad surprise by their answers, if they answer.
   • The Euro-skeptic thinkers are found in this category. They don’t really believe that something will change in their lives. Disappointed by the Romania way of living and the politicians, they are very defensive towards the good changes that Europe may bring.
   • There is also the category I like the most: The ones who didn’t solve their problems yet, but they ask, they try to get informed, they search for opportunities and for a career based on seriousness and effort. These are the ones who really search and find a lot about Europe, they have a stable opinion and you need to try hard to make them change it. They are also “on the way” to get some advantages from E.U. programs and I am sure that in the years to come they will advance in all their life aspects.

1. The ones who don’t want / know / care or simply can not change. Don’t forget that in Romanian agricultural areas, thousands of villages have population that more or less doesn’t know how to write or read (I have personal experience, like all the investors who try to buy agricultural lands and especially compacted ones). I cant easily say that it is the fault of these people for their status of life, in many times I believe that it is not their fault, this is how they were taught to be for ages.

The inhabitants of the villages and some other parts of Romanian society, being today around 40% of the total population, unfortunately can not follow the progress. They have to survive firstly and life is not easy for them. For me they are “the second Romania” that exists and most of foreigners don’t see. (Between you and me, the same situation stands today in many other European countries, for different reasons but still with the same results). For them European Union MUST really find ways to help, to assure that the funds will reach them (and they will not be lost “on the way”) and that in a period of 10 years they will also be able to “join the party” (hoping that the party will continue till then). They have only heard about E.U., without believing in anything more except “money that will be sent from E.U. to make our lives better”.

More or less, Romanians are skeptic towards Europe, as very few of them really know how to grab the opportunities that E.U. offers. “How many normal people around Europe really know how to grab the opportunities that E.U. offers?” someone of you will ask me. Not a lot, I agree, but for sure more than the Romanians today.

My prediction: In 2010 Romanians will reach the European standards in terms of knowing the opportunities of E.U and by 2015 they will be among the top 5 in exploiting these opportunities. Parts of the first two categories of the Romanian society will be leaders in this change and most probably they will become part of the leading Romanian social part then.