Says a lot

Khaem

VIP
Replace the Japanese invasion of 1930s to the Ethiopians in 2006

replace foot binding with FGM

replace opium addicts with Khat addicts

 

livinlavish

Live life to the fullest
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Hold onto the the thumbs up icon and copy link. Afterwards, paste the link onto a new tab and change the number on the end of the URL from 1 to lets say 3 for example (which is the laughing emoji). It will then ask you to confirm action and you just gotta press the confirm button.

Ik is a lot of steps but this is the only way I figured out how to do reactions on iphone.

Enjoy :win:
 
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Welcome back walaal.

China is an absolute must of a case study.

You can also add they experienced waves of devastating floods and climate disasters, similar to Somalia with the El Niño effects in recent years.


They still face floods and displacement to this day, but it’s less frequent and more contained, mostly limited to isolated towns, thanks to their extensive network of dams, embankments, and state managed infrastructure.

They’ve even gone so far as to transform entire landscapes to reverse environmental degradation, reforesting and re-engineering massive areas to prevent desertification and erosion.
I really hope similar re-greening efforts are carried out across the degraded hills and mountains in the northeast. Many of these mountain ranges like Galgala, Murcaanyo, and Golis used to look like Daalo and Cal Madow, covered in dense forests, diverse plant life, springs, and waterfalls. Now, large parts have been left bare.

China has done incredible reforestation work in its mountain and hill regions. That should be a big source of inspiration for us to replicate the same.
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Watch this short 3-minute clipit explains how heavy land use, agriculture, and overgrazing degraded China's environment and disrupted the entire ecosystem:



But what separates Somalia, I feel, from China is that China (and even Taiwan) remain low-trust societies, where social cohesion and cooperation depend heavily on centralized systems. They rely on top-down enforcement, strong bureaucracy, and state planning to make things function smoothly.


Somalis, on the other hand, operate in a high-trust, decentralized system where communal networks, and communal norms carry real weight. Our society doesn’t need a strong centralized state to maintain order or cooperation , we’ve historically thrived on social trust, reciprocity, and consensus.

In a way, China's rise would’ve been impossible without heavy state control. If they had left it to individual communities, without centralized direction, none of the massive reforms or coordinated efforts whether infrastructure, industrialization, or disaster management would’ve happened at the scale or speed we saw.

Somalis, by contrast, don’t need coercive structures to organize . Our challenge isn’t trust or cohesion, it’s often coordination and collective vision on a national level. We’re a people who trust each other, but lack the kind of state apparatus China depends on to turn that trust into unified, long-term action.

If we rebuild a unified civic identity and spark a grassroots civic movement, just imagine what would be possible.

With the level of social capital and resilience our communities already have, even a minimal but functional framework for coordination could unlock massive progress from development to environmental restoration to regional integration. It doesn’t take an authoritarian state it just takes vision, consistency, and the right platforms to connect local efforts into a broader national purpose.
 
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But what separates Somalia, I feel, from China is that China (and even Taiwan) remain low-trust societies, where social cohesion and cooperation depend heavily on centralized systems. They rely on top-down enforcement, strong bureaucracy, and state planning to make things function smoothly.


Somalis, on the other hand, operate in a high-trust, decentralized system where communal networks, and communal norms carry real weight. Our society doesn’t need a strong centralized state to maintain order or cooperation , we’ve historically thrived on social trust, reciprocity, and consensus.

In a way, China's rise would’ve been impossible without heavy state control. If they had left it to individual communities, without centralized direction, none of the massive reforms or coordinated efforts whether infrastructure, industrialization, or disaster management would’ve happened at the scale or speed we saw.

Put it in simple terms a low trust society means people don’t trust strangers, don’t easily form community bonds, and can’t work together outside of strict top-down control. That’s why in places like China, the state has to step in heavily just to make society function in a cohesive way.


These two articles break it down really well and explain in plain language how low trust affects everything from how people do business, to how cities are managed, and even how daily life feels:


How low trust creates organizational efficiencies and business practices.
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Here’s also a continuation that adds more depth:

Because of this low trust environment, you see a lot of issues pop up like counterfeit goods, low-quality products, public hygiene problems, and even common theft or pickpocketing. A lot of things we might think are normal in Somalia like leaving your phone at a shop and coming back for it later are unthinkable there.

This also helps explain why the social credit system makes sense to them. From the outside, especially from a high-trust culture, it looks extreme. But when people don’t trust each other or follow rules, the state has to build those trust structures for them even if it’s through surveillance or public shaming.


Here China also provides another amazing case study and how they turned this into an opportunity too. They didn’t just complain about it . They built new systems to force trust into the public space, high trust bonds and new technologies.
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One great example is how they rolled out CCTV cameras everywhere, not just for crime prevention, but also to create a visible presence of order and accountability. And it worked. It helped reduce petty crime, improved cleanliness, and even made business transactions more reliable:
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China’s story shows that even in a fragmented, low-trust environment with the right strategy and long-term thinking you can build systems that work. Now imagine if a high-trust society like ours could coordinate just half as well it would be transformative.
 
Put it in simple terms a low trust society means people don’t trust strangers, don’t easily form community bonds, and can’t work together outside of strict top-down control. That’s why in places like China, the state has to step in heavily just to make society function in a cohesive way.


These two articles break it down really well and explain in plain language how low trust affects everything from how people do business, to how cities are managed, and even how daily life feels:


How low trust creates organizational efficiencies and business practices.
View attachment 366569
View attachment 366568
View attachment 366567

Here’s also a continuation that adds more depth:

Because of this low trust environment, you see a lot of issues pop up like counterfeit goods, low-quality products, public hygiene problems, and even common theft or pickpocketing. A lot of things we might think are normal in Somalia like leaving your phone at a shop and coming back for it later are unthinkable there.

This also helps explain why the social credit system makes sense to them. From the outside, especially from a high-trust culture, it looks extreme. But when people don’t trust each other or follow rules, the state has to build those trust structures for them even if it’s through surveillance or public shaming.


Here China is also provides another amazing case and turned this into an opportunity too. They didn’t just complain about it . They built new systems to force trust into the public space, high trust bonds and new technologies.
View attachment 366570
View attachment 366571
View attachment 366572

One great example is how they rolled out CCTV cameras everywhere, not just for crime prevention, but also to create a visible presence of order and accountability. And it worked. It helped reduce petty crime, improved cleanliness, and even made business transactions more reliable:
View attachment 366574

China’s story shows that even in a fragmented, low-trust environment with the right strategy and long-term thinking you can build systems that work. Now imagine if a high-trust society like ours could coordinate just half as well it would be transformative.

@Shimbiris
 
Welcome back sxb

China's industrialization is an interesting story but I wouldn't sugar coat it like that video does. Mao's reforms caused a massive amount of deaths and a major cultural shift in a way that is too artificial. With that said some of China's past woes do match with Somalia, especially when you see all the major foreign interferences China had to face during the Qing dynasty era or "century of humiliation". Ultimately I rather Somalia follow its own model of development that is appropriate for Somalis as Idiliina talks about above. A decentralized government is the best way forward.
 

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