Wrong People Know They're Wrong

Usually. Sometimes. Under certain conditions.

Anyway, when it happens, they secretly want you to know they're wrong.

The Nytimes is linkjacked here, stating,

"Vietnam’s biggest selling point for many companies is its political stability. Like China, it has a nominally Communist one-party system that crushes dissent, keeps the military under tight control and changes government policies and leaders slowly.

“Communism means more stability,” Mr. Shu, the chief financial officer of Texhong, said, voicing a common view among Asian executives who make investment decisions. At least a few American executives agree, although they never say so on the record.

Democracies like those in Thailand and the Philippines have proved more vulnerable to military coups and instability. A military coup in Thailand in September 2006 was briefly followed by an attempt, never completed, to impose nationalistic legislation penalizing foreign companies.

“That sent the wrong signal that we would not welcome foreign investment — this has ruined the confidence of investors locally and internationally,” the finance minister Surapong Suebwonglee said in an interview in Bangkok."

Wait, you're saying that a place that changes leaders and policies slowly is more stable? WHOA! Mind being blown here!

While I still don't see the point of crushing dissent - if they do something immoral, lock 'em up and leave 'em alone otherwise - keeping the military under tight control is just a damn good idea, as is letting your leader practice and become experienced. And stability leads to complexity which leads to awesome.

Anyway, the thing with human brains is that we have a desire for logic, truth, and honesty built-in. It's running in the background even if the conscious mind is completely off its rocker.