| Sure, the Asian tigers. There's some ideas that float around that various Confucian "values" contributed to this surge, hard work, education etc. But all those places were Confucian long before they became successful. The other thing they all have in common is deep support from a more powerful country. - South Korea had some colonial development under Japan, and the U.S. support post WW2 and the Korean War made up to 1/5th of the country's GDP during some periods, nearly all of the Government budget and 100% of the military budget for quite some time. Favorable investment and borrowing and an open U.S. export market were instrumental to the modern success it is today. - Japan was well on its way to being a major economic power before WWII, and significant support from the U.S. helped it rebuild after the war. Again, Favorable borrowing, investment and an open U.S. export market were helpful. - Taiwan was a model Japanese colony before WW2 and received significant support from the U.S. after the establishment of the ROC. Significant U.S. support of the ROC military, aid and favorable borrowing and open markets. - Singapore and Hong Kong have similar histories of British support, but towards trade and finance centers rather than export driven economies. - Maylasia is a fascinating, formerly under British rule, has had stellar growth since independence in 1957, and has just started moving towards a similar growth model that Taiwan, Japan and South Korea have enjoyed. It also has the Chinese "Bamboo Network" to tap into (which explains the dominance of the Chinese minority in the economy). It's also offering Islamic alternatives to Western finance for Muslim countries. I think people blame religion far too quickly in these issues because it frequently arises as a symptom of some larger issue rather than a strict cause. I think what the Arabs need is a Park Chung-hee, distasteful in the short run, but providing for a solid economic foundation while keeping idle hands busy in the interim. Instead it's just sectarian brutal dictator after brutal dictator. Malevolence instead of Benevolence. Maybe there is something in the East/South-East Asian cultural makeup that gives a better chance for a Benevolent(-ish) dictator to take charge for a while? I don't know, and again, I think that's over simplifying things for a bit and unfair to the Arab people. |