3 ms·

> Theory (I live half a world away though) It has nothing to do with totalitarianism. Anyone who has actually lived in India or China for more than a month, as

> Theory (I live half a world away though) It has nothing to do with totalitarianism. Anyone who has actually lived in India or China for more than a month, as I have, knows that cleanliness and poverty are cultural factors as well. People casually throw garbage around and don’t seem to care, it’s cultural. I saw countless scenes in different Indian cities where people sat around garbage and filth (not homeless individuals), seemingly unbothered by it. There’s also a culture of cheating on exams, which diminishes the value of education certifications. Attitudes in customer service can be striking too, like when I was at a pharmacy, and the clerk was engaged in a private phone conversation while a whole line of customers waited for him to finish. Or drivers who arrive hours late and then get annoyed if you find another ride etc People who believe that India will catch up to China soon are living on a different planet.

Apocryphon 2y ago
Culture is often orchestrated, not organic- https://www.thechinastory.org/yearbooks/yearbook-2013/introduction-engineering-chinese-civilisation/anti-spitting-campaigns/ https://www.thechinastory.org/yearbooks/yearbook-2013/introd... https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna19197078 https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna19197078 http://www.china.org.cn/english/Life/159407.htm http://www.china.org.cn/english/Life/159407.htm Cheating and queuing woes, you say? https://time.com/4360968/china-gaokao-examination-university-entrance-cheating-jail-prison/ https://time.com/4360968/china-gaokao-examination-university... https://alanrefkin.com/2013/08/13/queuing-in-china/ https://alanrefkin.com/2013/08/13/queuing-in-china/ https://theculturetrip.com/asia/china/articles/why-do-chinese-people-cut-in-line https://theculturetrip.com/asia/china/articles/why-do-chines... I am reminded of this excerpt from Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism: > In his 1903 book, Evolution of the Japanese, the American missionary Sidney Gulick observed that many Japanese “give an impression…of being lazy and utterly indifferent to the passage of time.” Gulick was no casual observer. He lived in Japan for 25 years (1888-1913), fully mastered the Japanese language, and taught in Japanese university. After his return to the US, he was known for his campaign for racial equality on behalf of Asian Americans. Nevertheless, he saw ample confirmation of the cultural stereotype of the Japanese as an “easy-going” and “emotional” people who possessed qualities like “lightness of heart, freedom from all anxiety for the future, living chiefly for the present.” (...) > This was not just a western prejudice against eastern peoples. The British used to say similar things about the Germans. Before their economic take-off in the mid-19th century, the Germans were typically described by the British as “a dull and heavy people.” “Indolence” was a word that was frequently associated with the Germanic nature." https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14885027 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14885027

Apocryphon 2y ago

Culture is often orchestrated, not organic- https://www.thechinastory.org/yearbooks/yearbook-2013/introduction-engineering-chinese-civilisation/anti-spitting-campaigns/ https://www.thechinastory.org/yearbooks/yearbook-2013/introd... https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna19197078 https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna19197078 http://www.china.org.cn/english/Life/159407.htm http://www.china.org.cn/english/Life/159407.htm Cheating and queuing woes, you say? https://time.com/4360968/china-gaokao-examination-university-entrance-cheating-jail-prison/ https://time.com/4360968/china-gaokao-examination-university... https://alanrefkin.com/2013/08/13/queuing-in-china/ https://alanrefkin.com/2013/08/13/queuing-in-china/ https://theculturetrip.com/asia/china/articles/why-do-chinese-people-cut-in-line https://theculturetrip.com/asia/china/articles/why-do-chines... I am reminded of this excerpt from Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism: > In his 1903 book, Evolution of the Japanese, the American missionary Sidney Gulick observed that many Japanese “give an impression…of being lazy and utterly indifferent to the passage of time.” Gulick was no casual observer. He lived in Japan for 25 years (1888-1913), fully mastered the Japanese language, and taught in Japanese university. After his return to the US, he was known for his campaign for racial equality on behalf of Asian Americans. Nevertheless, he saw ample confirmation of the cultural stereotype of the Japanese as an “easy-going” and “emotional” people who possessed qualities like “lightness of heart, freedom from all anxiety for the future, living chiefly for the present.” (...) > This was not just a western prejudice against eastern peoples. The British used to say similar things about the Germans. Before their economic take-off in the mid-19th century, the Germans were typically described by the British as “a dull and heavy people.” “Indolence” was a word that was frequently associated with the Germanic nature." https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14885027 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14885027