Methods
American method is to start from scratch and build as did the pioneers. This results in desirable phenomenon that is courage and ingenuity and undesirable one that is failure to recognize and value what has previously existed. Each generation sees itself and its methodology as the right one; tries to do it alone; some succeed, others die, others go back and builds on top of the roots. The world goes on; lessons are learned; some get passed down, others forgotten. The place keeps building upon itself, using the efforts of everyone, however directed, for its purposes; an E Pluribus Unum. All intentions are used and appropriated and become a resource which America uses to build on itself.
European method is to stand on accomplishments of tradition and to evolve the tradition with new knowledge. This results in desirable phenomenon that is continuity and cultivation and undesirable one that is failure to develop ingenuity and courage. American method and European method are therefore direct opposites and complete each other. They check and balance each other, in best situations imparting of their virtues, in worst destroying the other's virtues with one's flaws. It is through interlocking interaction among them, like Star of David, that can be visualized the West.
Russian method is to learn fast and then take to the next level. It is based on two best Russian qualities: Intelligence and perseverance. Thus we had: Russian literature (Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Pasternak, Pushkin, Akhmatova); Russian music (Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakoff); Russian ballet; and the first man in space. All these pursuits were not invented in Russia, but Russians made the most of them. Russian character is about intelligence and perseverance. This is good for the aforementioned pursuits; it is bad for politics and for business, as stubbornness and certainty - both corollaries of these qualities - make people unable to compromise. The resulting history is a logical outcome of this character.
Arabic method is to take over the world and impose their law upon everyone. That is what Allah tells them to do. Their current project is to destroy the West by understanding the West and then using its own mechanisms to break it. The most vivid example was 9-11; but this has been going on all the time, including the OPEC crisis of 1970s and the Tehran hostage crisis. The method is this: See the logic of people's drives, fears, goals, pursuits, beiefs, systemic arrangements, political and social covenants, etc; and then use it to conquer them. They justify that by saying that such things are weak and evil and thus should be used against the people who have them for the sake of Allah, until we all live in the great land of Afghanistan.
Chinese method was to create a crystalline civilization, combining the interests of the society (Confucianism) with individualist outlet (Taoist) that gave people freedom for as long as they used it to acquire and transmit wisdom. This worked, until China's crystallinity led to closed-mindedness that made it unreceptive to progress. The crystal got hit with a sledgehammer that was the English civilization; at which point they had to do something else. They have been doing this: Encorporating the ideas and the inventions and science of Russia and America and redintegrating them around China's original mindset. The goal - seen in China's business practices and politics - has been to acquire leverage over everyone and make them need China and refrain from attacking China while it is growing. This has been working so far. Eventually people will start leveraging them back, and a tug of war will ensue between Chinese and all others. At which point China will either have to regress to a totalitarian state, or learn all the business and diplomatic skills in order to exist in the tug-and-pull arrangement that it has itself created with the rest of the world.
Japan's method is to copy and then improve. Japanese culture discourages original thinking but encourages excellence and diligence. This means the following: That Japan cannot produce truly original inventions or science, but it can take them from the West and then improve their quality in mass production. This has happened with cars, computers and robots. In this way, it's similar to the Russian method, but applied to different things calling on different qualities. Where Russia uses determination and intellect to create singular achievements, Japan uses diligence and excellence to create practical things.
Latin American method is to be full of energy and passion, and yet be obedient. This attracts money-making people from all over the world. Thus, Latin America manages to have luxurious cities and many wealthy people despite having very little industry. This also leads to all kinds of volatility, as moral questions constantly arise. Interests defend themselves; corruption takes place; countries become less attractive; money goes elsewhere. Then a Cardoso or a Fujimori steps in to set the place straight; country again becomes attractive; money flows in; and cycle continues.
The Jewish project has always been to change the world; they differ in tactics. The liberal Jews seek to influence other civilizations; the conservative Jews seek to lead by example. Both achieve a measure of success and a measure of failure as a result of mechanisms involved and competence in making them work.
Liberal Jewish method is to use their smarts to advance other civilizations, with ultimate hope of bringing about a world free of barbarism and full of intelligence and prosperity. "Where there is sand, there are Jews" - indeed there are; they see that as being their job. This leads to greater accomplishment in other civilizations; it also leads to all kinds of nastiness directed toward Jews themselves. Jews feel ungrateful and slighted by God; they lose their religion; other religions come in. Other Jews feel betrayed and create Orthodox communities and claim themselves to be true Jews. They carry on the line, encorporating new lessons into Rabbinic Judaism, until their children are confronted with the world. This leads to their glorification of suffering - then Christian missionaries come in promising relief. The back-and-forth influencing continues until the liberal Jews have blended thoroughly with the natives, while also having largely transformed them. They sacrifice their national identity for good of humanity, and humanity then has a choice: Either to recognize what has just happened and live at higher level, or to go back to barbarism while blaming the Jews and the liberals for everything under the sun.
Conservative Jewish method is to have a homeland in Israel and run it by Biblical and Talmudic law. They believe in leading by example rather than by working within other civilizations. The task - of running a country - involves qualities that Jewish people around the world never developed, and they have to learn from others or else stand entirely on the Bible and the Talmud. They have to defend themselves, manage political affairs, and are frequently seen as dinosaurs in the age (having less than 50 years in self-governance) when their former oppressors have long moved on to better ways. The project of leading by example becomes seen by the West as absurd; so the Israelies then have to hire Russian-Jewish expatriates to learn fast and then help catapult Israel into the next level.
African method has been taking the worst of the colonized and the colonizers: The colonized's victim mentality and the colonizers' cruelty and abomination. This has created a slew of hideous despots who plundered the African countries while refusing to take responsibility for their actions and claiming the injury of the colonized to injure the African people as gravely as had the imperialists. All is blamed on the West; tyrants come to power in that name and injure their people still worse than had the West. Good things get stomped out, leaving the people demoralized. This validates the West's stereotypes of African people being lazy, when what we see is learned helplessness.
Indian method is to be so attractive as to seduce everyone, and so peaceful and self-controlled as to be regarded ethically superior. Armies, colonists, came and went; they came back talking about how beautiful the place is and how profound its literature and religion. Gandhi appeared, combining India's spirituality with liberal Western belief in human rights, and inspired people living under oppression everywhere. India's method? Be magnificent and ethical, and they will all come and learn from you. At which point you will have more influence on the world than a thousand armies, and you will be cherished in people's hearts.
Which, incidentally, is similar to Christ's method - which raises in many minds speculation as to whether a certain Issa(http://reluctant-messenger.com/issa.htm), who supposedly came from the West around that time to study in India, did not happen to be the Nazarene.
European method is to stand on accomplishments of tradition and to evolve the tradition with new knowledge. This results in desirable phenomenon that is continuity and cultivation and undesirable one that is failure to develop ingenuity and courage. American method and European method are therefore direct opposites and complete each other. They check and balance each other, in best situations imparting of their virtues, in worst destroying the other's virtues with one's flaws. It is through interlocking interaction among them, like Star of David, that can be visualized the West.
Russian method is to learn fast and then take to the next level. It is based on two best Russian qualities: Intelligence and perseverance. Thus we had: Russian literature (Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Pasternak, Pushkin, Akhmatova); Russian music (Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakoff); Russian ballet; and the first man in space. All these pursuits were not invented in Russia, but Russians made the most of them. Russian character is about intelligence and perseverance. This is good for the aforementioned pursuits; it is bad for politics and for business, as stubbornness and certainty - both corollaries of these qualities - make people unable to compromise. The resulting history is a logical outcome of this character.
Arabic method is to take over the world and impose their law upon everyone. That is what Allah tells them to do. Their current project is to destroy the West by understanding the West and then using its own mechanisms to break it. The most vivid example was 9-11; but this has been going on all the time, including the OPEC crisis of 1970s and the Tehran hostage crisis. The method is this: See the logic of people's drives, fears, goals, pursuits, beiefs, systemic arrangements, political and social covenants, etc; and then use it to conquer them. They justify that by saying that such things are weak and evil and thus should be used against the people who have them for the sake of Allah, until we all live in the great land of Afghanistan.
Chinese method was to create a crystalline civilization, combining the interests of the society (Confucianism) with individualist outlet (Taoist) that gave people freedom for as long as they used it to acquire and transmit wisdom. This worked, until China's crystallinity led to closed-mindedness that made it unreceptive to progress. The crystal got hit with a sledgehammer that was the English civilization; at which point they had to do something else. They have been doing this: Encorporating the ideas and the inventions and science of Russia and America and redintegrating them around China's original mindset. The goal - seen in China's business practices and politics - has been to acquire leverage over everyone and make them need China and refrain from attacking China while it is growing. This has been working so far. Eventually people will start leveraging them back, and a tug of war will ensue between Chinese and all others. At which point China will either have to regress to a totalitarian state, or learn all the business and diplomatic skills in order to exist in the tug-and-pull arrangement that it has itself created with the rest of the world.
Japan's method is to copy and then improve. Japanese culture discourages original thinking but encourages excellence and diligence. This means the following: That Japan cannot produce truly original inventions or science, but it can take them from the West and then improve their quality in mass production. This has happened with cars, computers and robots. In this way, it's similar to the Russian method, but applied to different things calling on different qualities. Where Russia uses determination and intellect to create singular achievements, Japan uses diligence and excellence to create practical things.
Latin American method is to be full of energy and passion, and yet be obedient. This attracts money-making people from all over the world. Thus, Latin America manages to have luxurious cities and many wealthy people despite having very little industry. This also leads to all kinds of volatility, as moral questions constantly arise. Interests defend themselves; corruption takes place; countries become less attractive; money goes elsewhere. Then a Cardoso or a Fujimori steps in to set the place straight; country again becomes attractive; money flows in; and cycle continues.
The Jewish project has always been to change the world; they differ in tactics. The liberal Jews seek to influence other civilizations; the conservative Jews seek to lead by example. Both achieve a measure of success and a measure of failure as a result of mechanisms involved and competence in making them work.
Liberal Jewish method is to use their smarts to advance other civilizations, with ultimate hope of bringing about a world free of barbarism and full of intelligence and prosperity. "Where there is sand, there are Jews" - indeed there are; they see that as being their job. This leads to greater accomplishment in other civilizations; it also leads to all kinds of nastiness directed toward Jews themselves. Jews feel ungrateful and slighted by God; they lose their religion; other religions come in. Other Jews feel betrayed and create Orthodox communities and claim themselves to be true Jews. They carry on the line, encorporating new lessons into Rabbinic Judaism, until their children are confronted with the world. This leads to their glorification of suffering - then Christian missionaries come in promising relief. The back-and-forth influencing continues until the liberal Jews have blended thoroughly with the natives, while also having largely transformed them. They sacrifice their national identity for good of humanity, and humanity then has a choice: Either to recognize what has just happened and live at higher level, or to go back to barbarism while blaming the Jews and the liberals for everything under the sun.
Conservative Jewish method is to have a homeland in Israel and run it by Biblical and Talmudic law. They believe in leading by example rather than by working within other civilizations. The task - of running a country - involves qualities that Jewish people around the world never developed, and they have to learn from others or else stand entirely on the Bible and the Talmud. They have to defend themselves, manage political affairs, and are frequently seen as dinosaurs in the age (having less than 50 years in self-governance) when their former oppressors have long moved on to better ways. The project of leading by example becomes seen by the West as absurd; so the Israelies then have to hire Russian-Jewish expatriates to learn fast and then help catapult Israel into the next level.
African method has been taking the worst of the colonized and the colonizers: The colonized's victim mentality and the colonizers' cruelty and abomination. This has created a slew of hideous despots who plundered the African countries while refusing to take responsibility for their actions and claiming the injury of the colonized to injure the African people as gravely as had the imperialists. All is blamed on the West; tyrants come to power in that name and injure their people still worse than had the West. Good things get stomped out, leaving the people demoralized. This validates the West's stereotypes of African people being lazy, when what we see is learned helplessness.
Indian method is to be so attractive as to seduce everyone, and so peaceful and self-controlled as to be regarded ethically superior. Armies, colonists, came and went; they came back talking about how beautiful the place is and how profound its literature and religion. Gandhi appeared, combining India's spirituality with liberal Western belief in human rights, and inspired people living under oppression everywhere. India's method? Be magnificent and ethical, and they will all come and learn from you. At which point you will have more influence on the world than a thousand armies, and you will be cherished in people's hearts.
Which, incidentally, is similar to Christ's method - which raises in many minds speculation as to whether a certain Issa(http://reluctant-messenger.com/issa.htm), who supposedly came from the West around that time to study in India, did not happen to be the Nazarene.
posted by Ilya Shambat at 3:34 PM
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