Thanks to Bill Heyman

Bill has posted a link to an extremely interesting article about the psychological foundations of human society types. The main idea is that totalitarian societies are very sensitive to loosing to what is commonly misconstrued as “honor” while democratic societies are much more sensitive about the possibility of hurting others and as a result tent to make compromises and even forfeit some of their intrinsic values, i.e., equality of all the groups in a society.

Here is an abstract from the article: to read the full piece please visit:
www.sullivan-county.com/immigration/e5.html

“Human societies can be loosely divided into two groups: those governed by shame and those governed by guilt. Though often conflicting, guilt and shame are both normal functions of the human psyche. In different individuals and societies, how-ever, one or the other may predominate.
Guilt-dominant individuals tend to mistrust their own native aggression, and they will act to protect others from it.
When they are in the majority, they tend to maintain societies that will go to war only after they have been attacked. Tolerance, moderation, and charity are the official virtues of "guilt" societies, and play a part in shaping their educational practice, legislation, and foreign policy.
By contrast, shame-vulnerable individuals are constantly vigilant toward aggressions of others against their sense of honor. If insulted, they feel humiliation and rage. The shame-prone willingly submit only when the external power appears so invincible that there is no alternative but surrender. Beneath their outward defiance, the shame-prone often hold unconscious yearnings to be submissive; the seemingly omnipotent conqueror allows them to be passive without shame. “