In it he writes how countries which emphasize education are doing better than those which do not. As you might surmise, I have no quibble with that view.
Oppenheimer then takes it a step further, and that's where we part company. He writes:
It’s no coincidence that the countries with the highest education standards are becoming richer. And vice versa — those without quality education are losing economic ground.He just couldn't resist taking an indirect swipe at Trump, could he? And that's where he goes wrong, for Trump was correct. The issue of genetics is an entirely phony straw man, Trump made no such claim.
The good news is that no nation is genetically doomed to be poor. As the new World Bank rankings show, there are no “shithole” countries.” Nations that are serious about improving their education standards, like Singapore, can turn from basket cases into star economies in amazingly little time.
Countries, like much of Latin America and Africa, which place relatively less emphasis on educational excellence are "shithole countries." It is the content of their cultures, not their gene pools, which dooms countries to be losers.
Some cultures simply "work better" than others given a particular payoff matrix - today's payoff matrix rewards obsessive educational achievement. The three Asian countries Oppenheimer identifies as winners share that obsession, Trump's "shithole countries" do not.
For reasons that are unclear, it is PC to view all cultures as equally "valid," when it is obvious they are not. Different cultural norms lead to different outcomes, some positive, some negative. Admitting this is true looks to the 'PC police' like blaming victims, a big no-no in their eyes.
