DominiConnor
Quant Headhunter
- Joined
- 9/6/06
- Messages
- 1,051
- Points
- 93
My observations on history are that unemployment is a distinct factor, and at least as important as food. Americans are in the richest top 0.1% of all the humans who have lived since we started living in cities. Most aren't feeling very rich right now because human perception is based upon changes, not levels. Moslem societies fail because there are far too few opportunities to make your life better because they are wholly corrupt and run by small tribe/faith cliques. If you're not the "right sort of person" you don't just have an inevitably crap life, it's a boring crap life.
Saudi bought some time by educating people, which is a problem in a Moslem society. Islam is quite different from contemporary Christianity in that one is supposed to try and understand it, Xians have to believe not think. The result is that although what they are taught is bollocks, it is intellectually rigorous bollocks which is why so many radical moslem leaders are clerics, whereas most senior Christian leaders seem so remarkably dumb. Since Saudis have the intellectual tools to realise their culture is failing the variable is whether they have the nerve to act.
I agree about the evangelicals, the foot soldiers did a good job, but the people in charge were chosen on religious affiliation, especially in the period after takeover when competence collapsed because you had senior staff who were chosen on (inter alia) their views on abortion.
Saudi bought some time by educating people, which is a problem in a Moslem society. Islam is quite different from contemporary Christianity in that one is supposed to try and understand it, Xians have to believe not think. The result is that although what they are taught is bollocks, it is intellectually rigorous bollocks which is why so many radical moslem leaders are clerics, whereas most senior Christian leaders seem so remarkably dumb. Since Saudis have the intellectual tools to realise their culture is failing the variable is whether they have the nerve to act.
I agree about the evangelicals, the foot soldiers did a good job, but the people in charge were chosen on religious affiliation, especially in the period after takeover when competence collapsed because you had senior staff who were chosen on (inter alia) their views on abortion.