Culture: October 2011 Archives
The Occupy movement is experiencing the lessons of history and the development of civilization the hard way. (Via Ace of Spades HQ.)
World power swings back to America - Telegraph
Some good news from the Telegraph's international business editor Ambrose Evans-Pritchard: America is supplying nearly three-quarters of its energy needs, up from half a decade ago. Wage inflation in China is encouraging manufacturing to come back home as the cost gap closes. A caution: "The switch in advantage to the US is relative. It does not imply a healthy US recovery. The global depression will grind on as much of the Western world tightens fiscal policy and slowly purges debt, and as China deflates its credit bubble." But the advantages are real: "It is almost the only economic power with a fertility rate above 2.0 - and therefore the ability to outgrow debt - in sharp contrast to the demographic decay awaiting Japan, China, Korea, Germany, Italy, and Russia."
World Value Survey Cultural Map
Mapping survey results on a two-axis graph: Traditional vs. Secular-Rational and Survival vs. Self-Expression. There's an interesting Anglosphere cluster (US, UK, Australia, Canada, NZ, Ireland) straddling the Traditional vs. Secular-Rational line but well in the direction of Self-Expression over Survival. (Via Ace of Spades HQ overnight thread.)
