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International
Islam ’doesn’t’ slow economies it just halts them!
2003-12-22
EFL
Is Islam a drag on economic growth?
Yes.
Economists have debated the impact of religion on economic performance for many years. A long line of scholars has blamed the relative poverty of Muslims today on their religious beliefs.
But...
But economist Marcus Noland maintains that this long-standing view is wrong.
He is in a lonely, dark room. If my head is jammed up my a#*, does this mean I am headless?
"There is nothing inherent about these [Islamic] societies that they have to perform poorly," says the economist with the Institute for International Economics in Washington. "If anything, Islam promotes growth.... There may be undue pessimism about the prospects of these countries."
I was under the impression that for an economy to flourish, there are certain liberties that are required.
His thesis has many critics.
Shocker!
Oddly, Noland’s recently published paper, "Religion, Culture, and Economic Performance," has become something of a minor hit on the Internet. Web surfers have picked up the report and filled Noland’s Internet mailbox with kind, gentle responses. Many of them are critical, some couched in religious terms. Some Hindus in India, for instance, don’t have much good to say about Muslims.
Why’s that?
Sometimes the responses boiled down to "My God is greater than your God," Nolan says.
Or, I am freer than you are. Nanny, nanny, boo, boo, stick your head in....

I'd guess that in most cases they didn't boil down to "my God is greater than your god," but that he doesn't want to discuss those.

Sometimes it's great fun to be counterintuitive and make devil's advocate arguments. In the actual world, your opinion can be anything you convolute it to be; reality sticks stubbornly to what actually happens.

You can't have a thriving economy when The Masses™ are mired in poverty and ignorance. Reading the same book over and over, even if it's a good one, isn't going to expand your mind — you become less ignorant, but only by one opinion.

One form of ignorance the Islamic world is notable for is xenophobia. Hatred and distrust of outsiders depresses the society's willingness to engage in trade, not to mention what it does to the willingness to trade on an honest basis. That leads to self-destructive stupidity, like Nigerian Muslims refusing to have their children innoculated against polio because of Infidel Plots™, or Somalis refusing to use rubbers, or Pashtuns refusing to use anything that doesn't require replenishing ammunition.

As a devout agnostic, my God may or may not be more powerful than his god, if any; but Islam objectively shoots itself in the foot by fostering ignorance.
Posted by:Dragon Fly

#9  Marcus Noland should have his apologist license revoked. This is about the most obviously asinine assertion one could make as there is no evidence I've ever seen to support him - and a mountain range of evidence to the contrary. What an utter dumbass.
Posted by: .com   2003-12-22 10:59:49 PM  

#8  Constant war is usually considered bad for a non-industrialized economy and for some reason Islamic nations find themselves in wars a lot.

Add to that the fact that education often promotes wealth and they substitute Islamic education for real education throughout the Islamic world.

Maybe they should talk to the Japanese to figure out how a non-Christian country can become successful.
Posted by: ruprecht   2003-12-22 8:46:53 PM  

#7  I see all sorts of islamic reform going on. You've got the Louis Farrakan outfit get'n down with the gloved one. Then there is Mohamed Ali doing his fake routine. You've got vodka sippers in Bosnia. You've got Saudi moderates! And Nigerian rioters. Some throw stones some use Aks. Some use suicide others hide in holes. Diversity is everywhere.
Posted by: Lucky   2003-12-22 8:33:32 PM  

#6  d.fly, it wasn't your fault fly because the link was internal to the comments of another post
Posted by: mhw   2003-12-22 3:42:00 PM  

#5  Sometimes it's good to re-kindle an old topic :)
Posted by: Rafael   2003-12-22 3:13:34 PM  

#4  This is happening more and more to me. I post something only to see it has been covered already.
Posted by: Dragon Fly   2003-12-22 3:05:14 PM  

#3  see the string of comments starting with about the 6th comment on

http://rantburg.com/#23149

it mostly is about this IIE study
Posted by: mhw   2003-12-22 3:02:26 PM  

#2  His thesis is full of feces. When a society is frozen in its "fundamentals" and cannot change to meet new challenges and conditions, the changes will destroy it. If you worship the moon and humankind goes to another planet, e.g., Mars and sets up shop, the moon worship will not work on Mars. To survive, Islam will have to change and reform itself. If it does not, the world will pass it by, violently or nonviolently. It is up to Islamic leaders on what they do with the Fatwa Factory™.
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2003-12-22 2:45:43 PM  

#1  Islam does make you prosperous..... if you are at the top of the heap and not a commoner. Just like europe in the middle ages... works great as long as you are not a peasant or commoner.
Posted by: CrazyFool   2003-12-22 2:11:46 PM  

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