Fred letter

thanks for your very brilliant and helpful analysis of Iran's
economic problems. I will now provide a western view of the problem. Of
course some of this may be self-serving propaganda but on the whole, it
has some validity too.

1. Capitalism and free enterprise: We believe that these are the best ways
to unleash the creative energies of a nation. A govt-controlled system
insures rigidity and mediocre effort. This is precisely what caused the
collapse of Soviet Russia and it explains why East German is so crippled
in comparison to West Germany.

2. Fairness to women: Women are a huge resource to any nation and when
they are sujugated the nation suffers. Some of our most brilliant doctors,
lawyers and scientists are women and without their contributions, we would
be much poorer.

3. The place of religion. Our constitution demands a separation of church
and state. We have freedom of religion but also freedom FROM religion.
When religion takes precedence over science and free inquiry, progress is
bound to suffer. To prove the point, just witness how Galileo and
Copernicus suffered at the hands of the Catholic church when they insisted
that the earth (and man) was not the center of the solar system. And for
many years (even now for many Christians), there was great insistence that
Darwinian evolution was the work of the devil. I give these examples only
to prove that Muslim fundamentalism is not the only block to intellectual
progress. If you take a clear, objective view of the middle east, where
most or all of the countries are still in the dark ages, the stifling
effect of religion must be taken into account.

4. Israel: Please allow me to remain clear of the Arab/Israeli conflict, a
situation where the Jews have certainly made some huge mistakes. But I
would like to point to the miraculous achievements of the Israelis because
they have such wonderful scientists, mathematicians and thinkers. They are
the single most shining light in the region precisely because their
intellectuals and scientists have not been suffocated by religion. I
believe this explains much of the jealousy and anger of their Arab
neighbors.

I hope my remarks are not offensive to you. I want to be honest because
you are such a bright and thoughtful person. FRED