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Comment by x3874 | Hacker News Reader

It is not liked by the Left but easy to say: Most countries once managed successfully or not so successfully by "Whites" or yes, even plundered by them took a nosedive towards reduced productivity, neglected maintenance, incompetence, infighting, embezzlement, dictatorship, cultural / tribe / religious clashes after handover to local authorities happened.

Just look how economically thriving Mozambique and Angola were, and what happened after they gained independence from Portugal.

South Africa is another example in that long list.

Hell, just look what happened with Libya and Iraq after their dictators, who subdued the masses but kept the peace, were disposed of respective being helped in their disposal by the US government.

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Don't need to bring tribal politics into it. SA suppressed something like 90% of the population for decades, and then handed over control. Now the government is completely dominated by a single party. That's a recipe for disaster no matter what color your skin is, or what region you live in.

Singapore is effectively a single party system too, but look how well they live. It's definitely a mentality / cultural / tribal / ethnicity thing; btw just look within the US: Blacks don't do well, but Asians do. Regardless of how many parties participate in decision-making.

Given my own experiences from travelling to 43 countries, the difference in drive, willingness to work, abilities or lack thereof / lazyness shown in daily life is certainly very visible between Africa and Asia, Europe, America.

Have you considered that skin color is more than just skin color? That a people, a culture, is more than the amount of melanin they have?

The idea that everyone is a blank slate wrapped in different colors of skin seems quite reductive, if not insulting to the beauty of human diversity, given the real science behind genetics.

Singapore did rather well after the British, Lee Kuan Yew was an intelligent man with a plan and the energy and conscientiousness to execute. Likewise, even Chiang Kai Shek in Taiwan, who was facing total defeat at the hands of the Communists. African countries have not fared so well.

The question "Who caused this?" is just an oversimplification and a way to get people emotional.

If you really want to make things better then you focus on the question "How do we make it better from where it is now?"

>It is not liked by the Left

This is needlessly tribalistic. This is "not liked" by some people, because of the implications for which it is most often used as a stand-in. Even the right-wingers I know admit this dishonesty when they see it committed. In other words, they "don't like it". (I'm not accusing you of this particular dishonesty - I'm just criticizing your framing)

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