Sacredness and universal values

IN the early 1990s, a fierce East-West debate arose whether the economic success of Asia was due to Asian values of hard work, fielty and paternalistic government, largely attributable to Confucianism, Islam, Hinduism and other Asian cultures.

The debate faded when the Asian financial crisis cut back the hubris on both sides, especially since the triumphalism of the West was shattered by the Great Recession of 2007-2009.