>>The systems can't exist without people creating them -- but the systems are still necessary. And each system of government can always be improved upon - and that is one of the genius of our system - the fact it's designed to adapt with the changing times. At the moment, however, our system is broken - and it is going to remain that way until the money is taken out of politics. Lets just hope Bernie wins this time - because for now he seems like our best chance to make some of the radical changes that are necessary.
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>Herbert Hoover and FDR operated within the same system with drastically different outcomes.
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>Yes, Bernie is what we need right now.

No idea how far Bernie would swing the US.
But just comparing GDP might not be the best indicator.

You might check worth per capita - Greece from former example and Italy have populations probably surprizingly wealthy compared to the people living in Germany. West german wealth was gutted by a something between a third and a quarter shortly after Fall of Wall, but as Germany is considered to be the economic powerhouse of the EU (leaving out selection errors like Luxembourg due to small size and special factors - in that case high-paid politicians flooding the economy with money generated elsewhere) the comparative lack of personal wealth stems from overeager re-distribution and guilt complex.

Look before you leap ;-)