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Old 02-06-2005, 09:34 PM   #8 (permalink)
guy44
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I think the important part of this study is that it shows what political scientists and economists have believed for years: that everyone is, in many ways, the same, and that economic bounty usually supplants ideology. Holding down a good job, having a chance to succeed and to advance are excellent ways to moderate political viewpoints.

In essense, the West vs Arab "conflict" is as much misunderstanding by those involved as anything. This is not a "clash of civilizations" issue. When times are bad, as they are in many regions of the Middle East, radical ideology has an easier time taking hold. This is why you see such strong support on the survey for Al Qaeda or certain terrorists. But when economic success arrives, as in Kuwait or Qatar, individual citizens have a much more difficult time getting up in arms, so to speak. Moderation becomes more rampant. It is, in other words, the co-development of political and economic indicators such as a strong civil society, the rise of a middle class, and governmental openness that is most likely to heal the "rift" between the Middle East and West.

I think that this is what this survey has to show us: there is a solution to this conflict, and it is essentially global economic interdependence and prosperity.

P.S. But not originating from the barrel of a gun. That just makes things much, much worse.
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