Europe as "The World"

Strange, but it seems like when Europeans write about world opinion, especially world consensus, they seem to give Europe the weight of "The World".

I seem to notice this the most in comparisions with the United States. When someone either in America or Europe decries the continued use of the Death Penalty in The States, it's always on the grounds that "The Rest of the world doesn't do it anymore." when they really mean, "Europe and some other countries don't do it anymore."

I've pointed out to absolutely shocked Europeans that Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan all still retain the death penalty, and that, at least in Japan, the prisoners don't know their date of execution until maybe 2 hours before it happens.

Europeans also seem to assume that the U.S. is the Odd duck out on fire-arm ownership, whereas there are still a lot of countries that allow fire-arms to be owned.

I've also noticed this on environmental issues, amonst others.

I'm not meaning to start a "European arrogance thread" but it does seem that sometimes, Europeans are just as guilty of the same continental myopia that the Americans are often accused of.

Is this simply because there are so many different countries there?  Is it because most of the developed world countries are there?

>>10
I doubt it.

Of course they're aware of the West, and how stinking rich it is. However, it is bordered by countries that are either starving to death, in a permanent state of asymmetric warfare, dying of HIV, a dictatorship, or all of the above.

I dunno about you, but if I was them, I'd be a whole lot more interested in what my neighbours were up to.