Fewer stop signs is the goal. There's the general concept of a "priority road" and "yield" or "subordinate road". Traffic on the priority road has priority. At equal intersections, the vehicle on the right has the right of way. In ambiguous situations we use explicit yield signs (the upside-down red triangle) to indicate which traffic is to yield. Stop signs are generally reserved for situations like a blind turn, intersection at a hill, etc - where someone unfamiliar with the setting would not know they won't be aware of hazards, so the signs indicate the need to stop no matter what.
The way stop signs are used in North America basically assumes that everyone is incredibly stupid and cannot be trusted with a dull stick. Perhaps that has something to do with this individualistic bend and a hatred for collective well-being and the general fabric of society; I don't know.
Cherry on top are speed bumps placed 30' before a stop sign. That's just plain moronic. A speed bump (or a raised crosswalk) would work perfectly well with a stop sign -- both signage and physical infrastructure indicating the need to stop. But, of course we won't build it that way!