Originally Posted by Mutt

What the hell is wrong with that country? It's been civilized for thousands of years, how do they manage to fail so badly that they don't have indoor plumbing for 600 million people? It's Buddhism, you don't see many Buddhists with much ambition, a religion that glorifies poverty and promises reincarnation so it's no wonder those people have no urgency to better their lot in this life. All the human qualities that lead to progress are discounted and denigrated as in Buddhism.