Don't Know Where We're Going, But I Sure Know Where We Been

Just and interesting article I came across in one of the UB English newspapers.  It is a good read if you are at all curious about how Mongolia is combining their nomadic traditions and Soviet era past into a new identity to lead them into a more Western economy and way of life.

Mongolian Capitalism: Cultural Battle

"There are therefore two very contrasting cultural influences for Mongolians. Individualism and a lack of recognition of authority are pervasive manifestations of nomadic culture, however the country’s socialist history has instilled a sense of the opposite: reliance upon the state and a level of consciousness that transcends the individual.
These divergent cultural foundations result in a society whose fundamental beliefs and economic relationships appear confused and incoherent. Sant Maral polling of social attitudes show that Mongolians have little trust in the effectiveness of the government, and that people even mistrust the government’s intentions, and yet they demand that the government be ever more involved in their lives..." 

Nation building.  Its easy right?