barnes @gk: functioning societies are either built on guilt or on shame
--- chez gavekal ils aiment bien polariser et catégoriser. à mon avis pas toujours très pertinent, mais toujours ca pousse à la réflexion! http://gavekal.com ---
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One of our core beliefs is that functioning societies are either built on guilt (Judeo-Christian societies) or on shame (Asia). Societies based on shame have a lot of advantages (low crime rates, strong social cohesion…) but one massive disadvantage: they lack a mechanism to deal with failure (except suicide). In the US, if you run an auto company into the ground, you declare bankruptcy, ask for forgiveness and move on. Meanwhile, in Japan, admitting failure is akin to political suicide. This implies that things have to get a lot worse before they get better... In fact, things have to go to a level where failure becomes collective rather than individual.?Only then can failure be addressed. This is what happened with the Asian Crisis of 1997-98
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