Re: Death of Zoya Krakhmalnikova, Russian Christian writer jailed by

On May 21, 7:18=A0am, Steve Hayes <hayesm...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> On Mon, 19 May 2008 23:42:38 -0700 (PDT), Marko Amnell
>
> <marko_amn...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> >Let's get back to my initial disagreement with you.
> >You said that Russia is a Western country. That
> >is what I disagreed with. The high level of corruption
> >is just one indication that Russia is not a Western
> >country. It's not even the most fundamental reason.
> >The fundamental reason is that Russia has
> >developed a new model of economic development.
> >This is an interesting turn of events in world
> >history. Among other things, it disproves Francis
> >Fukuyama's thesis about "the end of history."
> >The most interesting theorist of this new model
> >of economic development is Sergei Karaganov.
>
> Levels of corruption as an indicator of "Westernness" seems a very odd
> indicator indeed. I suppose it depends how you define "Westernness". I
thi=
nk
> Huntington's model makes more sense than Fujuyama's.

Well, when certain Eastern European countries apply for
member****p of the EU, for example, they are
sometimes criticized for their high levels of corruption
which are seen to exclude them from this particular
Western club. Certain legal standards (and the
enforcement of those standards) seem to be a part
of the idea of the civilized West.