| A strange loop.
| |
| A strange loop.
| |
Hopeful Signs for Afghanistan's FutureMichael Ubaldi notes two very good developments in Afghanistan. I have high hopes for the Afghans: while they have a small population, difficult communications, few resources and virtually no money to work with, these same characteristics have been true of many now-successful and now-free nations (including Israel, Taiwan and South Korea). If Afghanistan continues to embrace political and economic freedom, they too could be a first-world nation in this century.
Posted by Jeff at July 23, 2004 10:53 PM | Link CosmosAnd if rocks were worth something Afghanistan would be a superpower. There is one reason they will not come out ahead of the bronze age for the forseeable future. Education. Everybody who knew how to do anything is dead or long gone to Packistan/the real world. Given a portable toilet fully equipped they will squat on top of the seat and still wipe their ass with a rock. I dont believe I can explain their current status any better than that.
Posted by: Beechead on July 24, 2004 09:53 PMNo argument about their present; the question is about the future. A lot of effort is going into education and westernization right now, and it appears from the two noted developments that the right foundational elements are coming into place. You note that I gave them a century? It will take a few decades to get Afghans to the place where they can exploit independence (in an individual sense, which is made possible by property rights) and freedom (also in an individual sense, made possible by representative government).
In the strategic sense, it doesn't matter if Afghanistan fails utterly, in that all we have to do is ensure that it does not revert to a terrorist free-for-all. But in a human sense, I do hope that Afghanistan pulls through, and they have a shot at doing so. Yes, it's a massive cultural change, but there are signs that it's beginning, and so I choose to hope for its continuance.
