Romney claims Israelis culturally superior to Palestinians

[Guest]

Don't parents control their teenager's computer usage these days?

No wonder families are breaking down.

[_Bob Loblaw]

The Medellin Cartel has a much higer income than my household. Therefore, the Medellin Cartel is culturally superior to the culture of my own household.

True, but I'm surprised to hear you admit it.

[_Droopy]

The Medellin Cartel has a much higer income than my household. Therefore, the Medellin Cartel is culturally superior to the culture of my own household.

True, but I'm surprised to hear you admit it.

Hi, Bluff.

[_DarkHelmet]

This isn't what Romney was talking about. He was talking about the cultural superiority of Israel over the Palestinians as the reason for the economic disparity. He didn't get into the violent ideological and religious clashes. He was talking economics. In another article he was cited as also crediting "the hand of providence" for Israel's economic success in the region.

You are claiming then, that the generations of "violent ideological and religious clashes" have nothing to do with culture, and do not affect economic dynamics?

There is more to their culture than that. I don't want American culture to be defined by the ones who make the news because of their bad behavior. And you are correct that the economic dynamics in the region are directly affected by the Arab/Israeli conflict. That is one thing that Romney ignored in his economic analyst and he is being criticized for it.

[_DarkHelmet]

Qatar had the highest per captia GDP in the world in 2011. The United States was number 6 in the world. Therefore, Qatar's culture is superior to that of the United States.

The Medellin Cartel has a much higer income than my household. Therefore, the Medellin Cartel is culturally superior to the culture of my own household.

According to Mitt Romney, yes, because when it comes to economic success, culture is everything.

[Guest]

According to Mitt Romney, yes, because when it comes to economic success, culture is everything.

If that is what he meant, for the society as a whole, than he is exactly and precisely correct (note, I do not include within the class "economic success" criminal activity, including plunder, theft, and fraud, that lead to economic gain for some at the expense of others).

[_Bob Loblaw]

Hi, Bluff.

To quote stem, you're adorable when you mistake someone for another. :)

I have to stand back in awe when someone defends an obvious gaffe and then turns it into a denunciation of the culture of millions of people--and throws in a Nazi reference just for the hell of it. Are you really this stupid?

[_DarkHelmet]

According to Mitt Romney, yes, because when it comes to economic success, culture is everything.

If that is what he meant, for the society as a whole, than he is exactly and precisely correct (note, I do not include within the class "economic success" criminal activity, including plunder, theft, and fraud, that lead to economic gain for some at the expense of others).

So, you agree with Darth J's earlier post.

Qatar had the highest per captia GDP in the world in 2011. The United States was number 6 in the world. Therefore, Qatar's culture is superior to that of the United States.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_co ... y_GDP_(PPP)_per_capita

In 2011, for worldwide per capita GDP, Brunei was number 5, the UAE was number 7, and Kuwait was number 11. These Islamist states, which have failed to base themselves on a Western democratic model, surpassed a great many Western democracies in per captia GDP.

Israel came in at number 26.

Therefore, these non-democratic Islamist cultures must be superior to Western democratic cultures.

[_Equality]

When Mittens inevitably backpedals and tries to correct his gaffe (if he hasn't already), will Droopy Balls defend the correction or the original statement?

[_Droopy]

So, you agree with Darth J's earlier post.

No. Darth's argument commits a gross logical fallacy (in an effort to make a point that is too intellectually simplistic to be related to Romney's statement).

What I would argue is that economic success - general affluence, prosperity, technological advancement, high living standards, and overall economic health, are the effects of cultural attributes that encourage, support, and incentivize such a state of affairs.

These attributes are absent in Arab Muslim culture.