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0 pointsnradov8y ago0 comments

It's pretty easy to objectively measure which cultures are better. In general we can just look at long-term trends in voluntary migration rates by country / state / region (or whatever geographic area aligns with a particular culture). Sure there will be some noise in the data based on natural disasters and legal restrictions but those revealed preferences give a good first approximation.

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tmnvix8y ago

People often move not for cultural reasons, but because of resources. An example would be Nepalese migrant workers moving to Saudi Arabia - they aren't doing that for the culture.

majewsky8y ago

Also, voluntary migration rates (the metric that grandparent proposes) are distorted by migration policies.

tibbetts8y ago

Except historically migration to the US was driven by free land. And more recently by opportunities for wealth. These might be results of the non-thar culture, but they are confounded by natural resources and people are not clearly expressing a preference for the culture so much as a few correlated material benefits.

bryananderson8y ago

You are simply picking a measure (immigration) and saying that “being better at my measure that I picked equals being better, period.” What if I threaten all my neighboring countries with nuclear annihilation unless all their citizens move to my country, so that I will be sure to top your list of greatest countries?

Be careful what you optimize for. ;)

BeetleB8y ago

By that measure, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have the best culture.

stevenwoo8y ago

If you read the history of Columbus meeting the Arawaks on Hispaniola in his own words and the subsequent annihilation via genocide of the natives, it's hard to accept that the culture of Columbus is better.

GCU-Empiricist8y ago

Isn't survival, at a minimum, an instrumental value that has to support the objective values of a culture?

AnimalMuppet8y ago

Value at surviving, yes. Value at making war, maybe. Value at behaving morally? Not so much.

(And yes, I am aware of how fuzzy the term "morally" is here...)

dhimes8y ago

That's like saying Facebook is good because everybody uses it.

fellellor8y ago

Or Cocaine. If you try it a few times, you won't ever want to stop using.

wavefunction8y ago

Cocaine isn't that addictive, at least not for everyone.

It's more like cocaine is "obviously good" because millions of people around the world use it. I think that's a more apt usage of cocaine in the OP's estimation of popularity === "good."

ghostbrainalpha8y ago

Plenty of pedophiles migrate to Thailand for increased access to child sex trafficking, does that mean they have a superior culture?

Chris20488y ago

Hmm, seems North Korea comes out on top..

AnimalMuppet8y ago

I don't know about that. Nobody voluntarily migrates to there.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

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tmnvix8y ago

People often move not for cultural reasons, but because of resources. An example would be Nepalese migrant workers moving to Saudi Arabia - they aren't doing that for the culture.

majewsky8y ago

Also, voluntary migration rates (the metric that grandparent proposes) are distorted by migration policies.

tibbetts8y ago

bryananderson8y ago

Be careful what you optimize for. ;)

BeetleB8y ago

By that measure, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have the best culture.

stevenwoo8y ago

GCU-Empiricist8y ago

Isn't survival, at a minimum, an instrumental value that has to support the objective values of a culture?

AnimalMuppet8y ago

Value at surviving, yes. Value at making war, maybe. Value at behaving morally? Not so much.

(And yes, I am aware of how fuzzy the term "morally" is here...)

dhimes8y ago

That's like saying Facebook is good because everybody uses it.

fellellor8y ago

Or Cocaine. If you try it a few times, you won't ever want to stop using.

wavefunction8y ago

Cocaine isn't that addictive, at least not for everyone.

It's more like cocaine is "obviously good" because millions of people around the world use it. I think that's a more apt usage of cocaine in the OP's estimation of popularity === "good."

ghostbrainalpha8y ago

Plenty of pedophiles migrate to Thailand for increased access to child sex trafficking, does that mean they have a superior culture?

Chris20488y ago

Hmm, seems North Korea comes out on top..

AnimalMuppet8y ago

I don't know about that. Nobody voluntarily migrates to there.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse