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We need to be honest: Some cultures are better than others.

JL;DR SUMMARY Frederick Alexander critiques the concept of cultural relativism, arguing that not all cultures promote human flourishing equally. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Human RightsGender EqualityMoral PhilosophyMalala YousafzaiAfghanistanCultural NormsUniversal ValuesCultural RelativismProgressive CritiqueInstitutional Cowardice

Places mentioned

Norway
"Would you rather raise your daughter in Norway or Afghanistan?"
Afghanistan
"Would you rather raise your daughter in Norway or Afghanistan?"
South Korea
"We know instinctively that South Korea produces happier, healthier people than North Korea."
North Korea
"We know instinctively that South Korea produces happier, healthier people than North Korea."
Italy
"When people risk drowning in the Mediterranean to reach Europe, they are risking their lives on the promise of a better life in countries like Italy than in places like Somalia."
Somalia
"When people risk drowning in the Mediterranean to reach Europe, they are risking their lives on the promise of a better life in countries like Italy than in places like Somalia."
London, England, United Kingdom
"Nobody at the North London dinner party is planning on moving to Mogadishu for a better life."
Pakistan
"Malala Yousafzai was on her way to school when she was shot in the head by the Taliban for the crime of wanting an education. The 15-year-old Pakistani schoolgirl survived, and we know her story today because she went on to advocate for girls schooling."
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
"Who are we, sitting comfortably in Oxford or Boston or Melbourne, to judge?"
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
"Who are we, sitting comfortably in Oxford or Boston or Melbourne, to judge?"
Oxford, England, United Kingdom
"Who are we, sitting comfortably in Oxford or Boston or Melbourne, to judge?"
Saudi Arabia
"Saudi Arabia denies women equal legal status with men."
Iran
"Iran hangs gay men from construction cranes."
Philippines
"Literacy rates in the Philippines for males and females are 98 percent and 97 percent, respectively."
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
"if these things were prominent features of life in Toronto, wed condemn them immediately."
Netherlands
"She later became a Dutch Member of Parliament and advocated for Muslim womens rights."
Tehran, Iran
"When Mahsa Amini died in the custody of Irans morality police, Iranian women burned their hijabs in the streets."
South Africa
"and this has become strangely anathema to many in the Western cultural establishment. Saying that our culture is better than illiberal ones is seen as unsophisticated, unrefined, low status the sort of thing a plumber might say."
Eswatini
"and this has become strangely anathema to many in the Western cultural establishment. Saying that our culture is better than illiberal ones is seen as unsophisticated, unrefined, low status the sort of thing a plumber might say."

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Retrieved 2025-11-28 05:30:49 UTC
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