Quote Originally Posted by JimBob
Where did you get this? Westerners are as corruptible as anyone else. We have a culture that is all about stuff.
I got it from living it. Go, live and work in a country such as Mexico for a year, and THEN come and try to tell me that there are no cultural or attitude issues that are holding these societies back from being all they can be.

The simple fact is that things function SO much more smoothly on a day-to-day basis in the US and developed European countries that it's not even funny.

A good example-- go to Mexico. Rent an apartment. At the end of the lease, try and get your deposit back. Just go ahead and TRY. It won't happen. Ever.

The only way to get your deposit back in Mexico is to deduct it from what you pay for your last month's rent. And tell the landlord to go to hell if he complains.

Similarly, the only way to get a landlord to fix anything or to keep your apartment in a state of liveability is to with-hold rent. If you pay your rent every month, he will never fix anything. If you don't pay him, one of two things will happen-- if he's reasonable, he'll realize his error and come and fix the problem. If he's an obstinate character, he will try to find other ways to make your life difficult.

..

I'm not saying that there is no corruption in Western countries, but until you see the other side of things, you don't really realize how comparitively clean most things are here.

Honesty and efficiency are values which are uncommon outside of the developed, Western world.

DA