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"Personally, I took the pictures as a reminder that the men running Dubai’s gargantuan companies had been given an upbringing that could not prepare them corpor

by sanj 17y ago

"Personally, I took the pictures as a reminder that the men running Dubai’s gargantuan companies had been given an upbringing that could not prepare them corporate management" Am I the only one who finds this not-so-subtley racist?

gaius 17y ago
I don't think you know what "racist" means. Certainly there are many cultures where the education system translates poorly onto commercial leadership.
pw0ncakes 17y ago
States like Saudi Arabia and Dubai have unjust societies and failed cultures. Anyone who is fine with their society being a slave state (which Dubai is, for many "guest workers" from the Third World, often working in construction) and has no problem with the oppression of women should not be running anything. (That doesn't negate the fact that many such people, here and abroad, do end up running the show.) So no, I don't think it's racist. I think that for Dubai to suddenly adopt capitalism is like for tsarist Russia to make a go at communism. This has nothing to do with race; it has to do with culture and readiness to assume responsibility.
deleted 17y ago
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btilly 17y ago
After spending the better part of a year dealing with these men and seeing first hand how poorly they were doing corporate management, I'd take his observations (if not conclusions) seriously. Note that he goes on to make it clear that he doubts he would do any better if he had their background. And one of his suggestions is that they invest in education. Which says that he did not think they were lacking in innate ability, and does not come off to me as a slight against their race. Only their circumstances. Rather than racism, I would fault him for having too much confidence in the value of his formal education. But he redeemed himself in the following paragraph, which I think is an insightful description of the dangers of giving people great wealth and responsibility with little regard to ability and competence. Perhaps he will see things as I do once he is old enough to have seen people succeed despite having little formal education, and rich brats fail despite having had access to every educational advantage.

by sanj 17y ago

gaius 17y ago

I don't think you know what "racist" means. Certainly there are many cultures where the education system translates poorly onto commercial leadership.

pw0ncakes 17y ago

States like Saudi Arabia and Dubai have unjust societies and failed cultures. Anyone who is fine with their society being a slave state (which Dubai is, for many "guest workers" from the Third World, often working in construction) and has no problem with the oppression of women should not be running anything. (That doesn't negate the fact that many such people, here and abroad, do end up running the show.) So no, I don't think it's racist. I think that for Dubai to suddenly adopt capitalism is like for tsarist Russia to make a go at communism. This has nothing to do with race; it has to do with culture and readiness to assume responsibility.

deleted 17y ago

[deleted]

btilly 17y ago

After spending the better part of a year dealing with these men and seeing first hand how poorly they were doing corporate management, I'd take his observations (if not conclusions) seriously. Note that he goes on to make it clear that he doubts he would do any better if he had their background. And one of his suggestions is that they invest in education. Which says that he did not think they were lacking in innate ability, and does not come off to me as a slight against their race. Only their circumstances. Rather than racism, I would fault him for having too much confidence in the value of his formal education. But he redeemed himself in the following paragraph, which I think is an insightful description of the dangers of giving people great wealth and responsibility with little regard to ability and competence. Perhaps he will see things as I do once he is old enough to have seen people succeed despite having little formal education, and rich brats fail despite having had access to every educational advantage.