3 ms·

Quite a few LatAm countries had leading GDP (GNPs back then) a century or so ago, but mismanagement, endemic corruption, poor education, and a different attitud

by mc32 3y ago

Quite a few LatAm countries had leading GDP (GNPs back then) a century or so ago, but mismanagement, endemic corruption, poor education, and a different attitude toward time management led them down a different path. It didn’t have to be that way. They can pull themselves up like Salvador is doing, or they can be eternal victims like Cuba and have the Yankees as a convenient scapegoat (that’s not saying US meddling didn’t stunt growth), but Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Singapore all prove that a government and a people who focus and stop blaming others for their state of affairs can achieve wild dreams. Finding blame, even when there is lots to go around isn’t productive for an individual or a people. This is a lesson for Ukraine too. One day when the war is over, they’ll have to make a choice, blame Russia for their ills or get over it and begin a new era.

mlinhares 3y ago
If there’s a country in Latin America people should not pay attention or follow it is El Salvador.
makeitdouble 3y ago
> (that’s not saying US meddling didn’t stunt growth) That's a pretty quaint way to put it, especially after mentionning Cuba. Just to go on with Taiwan, South Korea and Japan which have specially strong ties to the US. In general attributing individual traits ("attitude toward time management", "scapegoat", "blaming") to whole countries to explain long term economic evolutions and gepolitics is iffy at best.
- mc32 3y ago
  I disagree. It’s a cultural thing. Taiwan or Singapore vs The Philippines. They have different attitudes (they can be changed if there is a pop wide effort). It takes leadership and the cooperation of the people. With the right government, I’d bet Cuba could turn things around, US or no US. But it’s hard work, sacrifice and effort.
  - hnfong 3y ago
    The common theme among Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, besides friendly relations with the US as GP mentioned, is that they are all within the cultural influence of "Confucianism".
    - mc32 3y ago
      Strong ties with the US is neutral. You can take advantage of it, or not. Egypt is a laggard, Greece is a laggard, Israel and Iceland aren't. But I think you bolster my point, culture has to do a lot with how a people confront adversity and overcome it. Both Korea ad Taiwan could have cried about being colonies of Japan whose resources and people were taken with no return. Japan could have succumbed to US defeat and felt sorry for itself too.
      - makeitdouble 3y ago
        > Egypt is a laggard, Greece is a laggard, Israel and Iceland aren't. To put numbers on it: Egypt is 38th in GDP, Greece 54th, Israel 29th and Iceland 111th. I have a hard time understanding who you call laggards and who aren't. The impact of strong ties with the US is an opening on the US domestic market and not getting shut down internationally. China's position for instance is clearly impacted by that, regardless of how we morally view the CCP. Korea ad Taiwan: they cried and asked for reparation from Japan, got some, and also further strong US support in face of the USSR and Chinese influence going in the region. Japan: the US forgave most of their crimes, reforged their constitution and used it as US base soil to keep an eye on the whole region, while making sure it's economy doesn't end in rubbles and try to bring stronger ties to the neighboring red countries. Hell, Japan is still basically US's small puppy in so many ways (was fun to look at the US meat import ban from sanitary reason getting magically removed as the US threw a stern look at Japan)
  - maybedorfs 3y ago
    Those tigers(Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan) Heavily focused on education are way smaller than the Phillipines.
  - 3y ago

by mc32 3y ago

mlinhares 3y ago

If there’s a country in Latin America people should not pay attention or follow it is El Salvador.

makeitdouble 3y ago

> (that’s not saying US meddling didn’t stunt growth) That's a pretty quaint way to put it, especially after mentionning Cuba. Just to go on with Taiwan, South Korea and Japan which have specially strong ties to the US. In general attributing individual traits ("attitude toward time management", "scapegoat", "blaming") to whole countries to explain long term economic evolutions and gepolitics is iffy at best.

mc32 3y ago
I disagree. It’s a cultural thing. Taiwan or Singapore vs The Philippines. They have different attitudes (they can be changed if there is a pop wide effort). It takes leadership and the cooperation of the people. With the right government, I’d bet Cuba could turn things around, US or no US. But it’s hard work, sacrifice and effort.
- hnfong 3y ago
  The common theme among Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, besides friendly relations with the US as GP mentioned, is that they are all within the cultural influence of "Confucianism".
  - mc32 3y ago
    Strong ties with the US is neutral. You can take advantage of it, or not. Egypt is a laggard, Greece is a laggard, Israel and Iceland aren't. But I think you bolster my point, culture has to do a lot with how a people confront adversity and overcome it. Both Korea ad Taiwan could have cried about being colonies of Japan whose resources and people were taken with no return. Japan could have succumbed to US defeat and felt sorry for itself too.
    - makeitdouble 3y ago
      > Egypt is a laggard, Greece is a laggard, Israel and Iceland aren't. To put numbers on it: Egypt is 38th in GDP, Greece 54th, Israel 29th and Iceland 111th. I have a hard time understanding who you call laggards and who aren't. The impact of strong ties with the US is an opening on the US domestic market and not getting shut down internationally. China's position for instance is clearly impacted by that, regardless of how we morally view the CCP. Korea ad Taiwan: they cried and asked for reparation from Japan, got some, and also further strong US support in face of the USSR and Chinese influence going in the region. Japan: the US forgave most of their crimes, reforged their constitution and used it as US base soil to keep an eye on the whole region, while making sure it's economy doesn't end in rubbles and try to bring stronger ties to the neighboring red countries. Hell, Japan is still basically US's small puppy in so many ways (was fun to look at the US meat import ban from sanitary reason getting magically removed as the US threw a stern look at Japan)
- maybedorfs 3y ago
  Those tigers(Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan) Heavily focused on education are way smaller than the Phillipines.
- 3y ago