[mc32]

One advantage the far east has over Europe and north America (south America has no such problems either) is that they don't vacillate when it comes to their culture and whether its morality is weak. For them, you either buy in, or you're out. There is little in the form oh, but what about those whose morals conflict with ours. No, adapt. That's not to say it's not problematic in other ways --like Russia, there is the shadow of the strongman or strongwoman in their psyche and the state has greater control over the individual and there is more paternalism but also there is less social division and had wringing over whether their culture is good or bad. They just are. There is less of good vs bad.

[mcguire]

I think perhaps you should be happy that Europe and North America do not have that particular advantage.

When Europe was operating without a bit of hand-wringing, it seems to have overrun much of the rest of the world, taken charge, planted colonies, and run said rest of the world for its own benefit. Likewise, we here in NA have a certain history of transplanting people who have something we want into camps in the stinking desert. Or into the ground, whichever is more convenient for all involved.

[mc32]

Like many things, there are tradeoffs and unknowns. Would the world have been better off without colonialism at all? Or would colonialism by Russians or Ottomans or Chinese or Egyptians? And had it not happened, where would we be technologically? Would we be more advanced? Would we be behind? Would we still be suffering from infectious diseases? Where would the world pop be today? Where would strife be today? Or totally at peace? Impossible to say. Only that it would not be the same and most of us on the planet would be other people, or no one at all.

[srtjstjsj]

How is than an advantage? Is the common person in the Far East or Russia doing well?

[mc32]

The question is also, would they be better off with a different philosophy than the one they have today? While everyone who is "Han" isn't necessarily Han, it does help in terms of social cohesion that people believe they are.