Cultural selection discussion

Do you think Africa is moving in the kalyptic direction (like everyone else) ..

The fact that Africans were more kalyptic than native Americans explains why they were easier enslaved. And that, ironically, saved them from genocide.

Today, poverty and poor education means higher population growth. But I see hardly any signs of imperialism from the native Africans. The former colonial powers still have a strong influence through political and commercial interests, and the Africans are very dependent on development aid. Large-scale wars would not be possible in Africa today because the rich countries in Europe and elsewhere have strong interests in intervening and creating stability.

The Africans and the former colonial powers share a strong interest in developing the continent. And though a lot of the aid is wasted to corruption and poor administration on both sides, the development is going pretty fast in the direction of Western democratic values and stability. Education is still lacking somewhat behind, but there is a lot of progress in this respect also.

So while Europe is seeing a regal wave in these years due to immigration and North America sees an unprecedented level of panic over terrorism, the African continent is actually quite kalyptic and will continue to be so for many years.

If i understand the term "kalyptic" correctly, it implies more freedom for the individual. In this situation individual freedom is valued more than the country/group/tribe.

To my mind, it appears Africa is a place where the rule is "every man/woman for himself". When is the meaning of individual freedom in the "law of the jungle" ?

If we compare this to Africa, the people there are highly individualistic. Everyone has high needs and hence there is so much conflict. Hardly any sign of work-culture. Lots of countries in Africa gained independence recently. Lots of indians and pakistanis got kicked out of Uganda because too many Africans felt that these guys were controlling the economy that should be controlled by the natives. To form countries/governments you need to have at least some form of co-operation and less individualism. Africa is slowly moving in the regal direction.

Fewer and fewer americans are getting interested in national politics. They are becoming too busy earning their daily bread.

If we put all this together it seems to me the whole world is getting less individualistic.

Ancient animism still has a strong foothold in Africa despite heavy influence from Christianity and Islam. Many Africans still sacrifice to ancient spirits although they also pray to God.

The difference in r/k level between Japan and Africa is smaller than the differences in r/k level within Africa, while other cultural aspects are very different: religion, natural ressources, population density, economy, urbanization, industry. Thus, the r/k level is not the prime factor I would look at for explaining differences between African and Japanese 'national characters'.

Of course there is xenophobia in Africa when there is so much poverty and competition for jobs. But the xenophobia is not worse than in Europe. And the loyalties there are volatile and can quickly change to whatever is more advantageous. So I don't see Africa as getting more regal. The frequency of war in Africa is declining.

I don't really understand your point about America, but the USA has certainly become more regal and imperialistic after Sept. 11.

Hope this clarifies your questions..

It could be that tropical Africa was a very rich continent with low population many centuries
ago and this lead to kalyptization. But the situation there has changed drastically.. now Africa has a very high population and low natural resources. What was once good to have has now become an obstacle. IMO the high rate of poverty and joblessness will slowly lead to regalization.

In Japan, i think its just the opposite story. Probably in pre-historic times it was very
cold and the inhospitable climate fostered cooperation and regalization to a high degree.
This regalization (all people working in cooperation, no one asserting individual differences etc)has made sure that all people survived through the hard times. That also explains the tremendous success of Japan in economy. But now there is plenty in Japan.. so i think Japan will gradually loosen up and become more kalyptic. (provided it stays rich)

I also think that extreme kalyptization does not foster innovation. In an extremely kalyptic
climate i expect to find lots of self-centered individuals . Although there will be tons of creative individuals, no one has time to recognize any other persons innovative or creative ability. Even if there was innovation , it will die because no one took notice of it. I think the laws of Newton are so well known because there were enough people who showed an interest in what Newton did.

Frederick homepage.mac.com/f.e.pitts/

Africa definitely has fewer international wars than Europe had when we were at the same level of economic and democratic development. Civil wars is something else, according to the r/k theory.