Posts by lonecobra2

Kimberly Cox59 said:Oh, sure, I'm just an 'outside collaborator' 😁
But yeah, you caught me—it's definitely because I'm a communist 😠

You can slap a cute little label on it like "gift economy" if you want, but honestly? It doesn't change anything—it's clearly just communism. 😛😁

Kimberly Cox59 said:I’m not sure if anyone else is even looking for this now that there isn't a dedicated thread starter, but honestly, I just feel like sharing it—it feels like a little bit of freedom to me:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gift_economy

It’s pretty much that concept I was rambling about a while back...

That’s exactly why you’re such a commie, 😁

(didn't realize people from MASA were showing up here 😛 though I guess it just happens automatically given certain things, haha)

urbanotter said:The truth is, the benchmarks and priorities of different civilizations simply don't align.

Even two individuals within the same cultural sphere rarely share the exact same values; for one person, family might be everything, while another focuses entirely on education and career milestones, and a third might prioritize physical possessions.
I often think about how Tesla and Edison worked together, yet their life goals and driving forces were worlds apart.

That is precisely why trying to "import" democracy or Western material standards into the Islamic world is such a struggle—just as a native person from New Guinea wouldn't have the same fundamental needs or outlook on life as someone raised in Western culture.

Look, just because different parts of the world have their own cultural quirks—their own little value systems, if you will—doesn't mean you can't compare them. Not when you're looking at material stuff like disposable income and all that. I mean, why would the fact that someone doesn't obsess over their bank account suddenly make comparing them useless? It wouldn't, right?

Even two people from the exact same social circle won't have identical priorities. One might be all about family, another's chasing an education or career milestones, and someone else is just focused on the material side of things.

I'm pretty sure the priorities and standards you're talking about overlap for plenty of actual, living people. But again—that doesn't change the fact that comparison is still possible and actually quite useful.

That's why it's such a struggle to "import" democracy and material standards into the Islamic world—kind of like how an indigenous person from New Guinea isn't going to have the same life goals as someone from Western culture. They're just playing a different game.

And that brings us straight to the massive headache here.

First off, this whole idea of an "Islamic world"—this Huntingtonian "clash of civilizations" nonsense—is basically a myth. Just look at Turkey.

Second, the real trouble with trying to "install" democracy usually comes down to how it's being done. Let's be real: chauvinism and, ultimately, bombs... they aren't exactly the most effective tools in the shed.