January 10-2014
. . . tiger mom
A controversial new book by a Chinese-American and a Jewish-American says eight groups in America—including Iranians—are more successful than all the others because they have the characteristics for success.
The book has come under fire for allegedly promoting the “racial superiority” of certain populations.
The book, titled “The Triple Package: How Three Unlikely Traits Explain the Rise and Fall of Cultural Groups in America,” was written by Yale Law professor Amy Chua. Chua gained fame and notoriety a few years ago after publishing “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” about her tough and highly disciplined parenting methods, which she said she learned from her Chinese background.
“The Triple Package” was co-written with her husband and fellow Yale Law professor Jed Rubenfeld, who is Jewish. Chua was born in Illinois. Both of her parents are Chinese ethnics, but they came to the United Stats from the Philippines.
The book makes the case for why eight minority groups in the US are inherently more likely to “do better than others.”
The groups examined are: Jewish, Chinese, Iranian, Indian, Lebanese-American, Nigerian, Cuban exiles and Mormons. The list has a nice American-style balance—two religions; two Asian nationalities, two Middle Eastern, one African and one Latin American—but no European. Yet, little noted is the fact that the groups named include Lebanese-Americans, but not Lebanese, and Cuban exiles, but not Cubans.
Chua has been criticized for promoting certain races as “superior” to others, although the three elements she says are behind their success are a superiority complex, insecurity and impulse control.
The book’s description on Amazon.com states:
“Mormons have recently risen to astonishing business success. Cubans in Miami climbed from poverty to prosperity in a generation. Nigerians earn doctorates at stunningly high rates. Indian and Chinese Americans have much higher incomes than other Americans; Jews may have the highest of all.”
Twitter users have lashed out at Chua, calling her “an embarrassment to Yale” and a “full-blown eugenics-pushing racist,” while Salon.com called her new book “another crackpot theory of racial superiority.”
Chua and Rubenfeld write, “That certain groups do much better in America than others—as measured by income, occupational status, test scores and so on—is difficult to talk about. In large part, this is because the topic feels so racially charged.”
However, they go on to say, “The Triple Package is accessible to anyone,” not just to the eight cited groups. “It’s a set of values and beliefs, habits and practices, that individuals from any background can make a part of their lives or their children’s lives, enabling them to pursue success as they define it.”
The book does not argue that the “Triple Package” is a racial trait among the eight groups, but rather a cultural outlook that gives members of those groups a cultural edge, which enables them to take advantage of opportunity far more than others.
The book will appear in bookstores February 4.
The New York Post got hold of an advance copy and denounced the book, calling it “a series of shock-arguments wrapped in self-help tropes, and it’s meant to do what racist arguments do: scare people.”
CNN pundit Will Cain said he didn’t see why the book would be controversial. “We have, throughout history, said certain cultures are better at certain things.”
Chua and Rubenfeld’s publisher, Penguin Press, released a statement saying it was “proud” of the book. “We look forward to a thoughtful discussion about the book and success in America,” the publisher said.
