Tiger Mom’s claim that cultures blessed with ‘triple package’ get ahead in America sparks uproar | National Post
2014/01/09 4 Comments
Tiger Mom’s latest attempt to generate publicity and controversy, without a more sophisticated discussion of the factors that influence success. Clever packaging of what she calls “the triple package” – superiority, insecurity and impulse control.
While it is no secret that different groups have overall different levels of economic success (see Table 5: Ethnic Community Specific Challenges and Table 6: Religious Group Specific Challenges), the explanations are more complex than a simple formula:
Asked about the controversy on Monday, sociologists and anthropologists said that despite its merits, the discussion of cultural difference inevitably becomes a minefield of assumptions, stereotypes and political correctness, especially when considered in the Western context.
“It should be possible to discuss cultural differences without evoking charges of racism,” said Morton Weinfeld, who holds the Chair in Canadian Ethnic Studies at McGill University.
“In my view, cultures are important and cultures can differ — otherwise, why are we discussing multiculturalism and reasonable accommodation?”
And yet that discussion quickly becomes “controversial” when groups as a whole are touted as successful, the way Ms. Chua and Mr. Rubenfeld present cultural groups in The Triple Package.
“The implication,” he said, “is that others aren’t.”
Kind of interesting that white Americans didn’t make the cut.
About Andrew
Multicultural Meanderings 
Fascinating. Thank you for the link. I am going to read this one.
Just one remark – something I’ve said before on my blog – we could argue that some immigrant communities may be more successful than natives because they are not integrated – because they do not act as the people around them. This is not to place one culture over another – just an idea about something that may be a happy accident. Is it really unreasonable to say that perhaps some immigrant cultures fit very nicely into the native culture more or less “as is” and are able to better exploit certain opportunities where their culture and the host culture meet and this gives them a competitive advantage over other groups as a result?
II have been asking myself this question over and over again as I watch the hot debates about integration going on here in France. There are immigrant groups here who are not particularly well integrated and don’t become citizens and yet they are very successful. But no one says a word about them and they don’t seem be under a lot of pressure to integrate. Is it because they fit just as they are in a way that works for everyone?
My thinking on this is still rather muddled so my apologies if I’m not clear or if I’ve inadvertently caused offense.
No offence at all. My sense is that immigrants and minorities sometimes have more “drive” to succeed, which is of course supported by family structures, history, education and experience. Many of the communities struggling in Canada have higher percentage of mono parental (largely female) headed families which also appears to be a factor.
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