Then why so 3rd world? I contend they're just as stupid as the rest of us.
India is not exactly 3rd world. I have done business there many times and the disparity between rich and poor is shocking - some of the best restaurants and shopping i have done is in India. Indians historically were at the center of great Kingdoms, Mathematics, Engineering and was considered a rich resource land when the British arrived. I think from my personal insight after having done business there and i have dated a few Indian girls long term is simply the system they are placed under. They were under a long term very far left socialist regime with a closed of economy. Opening up that economy to foreign investment has led to tremendous growth. Their main issues will always be over population and core corruption at every level. In terms of business smarts - i am always shocked at how shrewd they are even ones which don't hold an education. The next 50 years will see this economy getting even stronger as there is just far too much wealth and knowledge and influx of high quality education forming in the Country as well the influx of student coming back from abroad. To think the West will dominate in the next 100 years is foolish and who cares anyways as long as the whole world gets richer the less problems we will have.
I agree with your thoughts on Black Americans but i cannot really give a big insight into the issue as i am not from the US nor do i know enough about slavery. I have however done a lot of business in Nairobi and Tanzania and i would say the various bloodlines/tribes all showed drastically different traits when it comes to business. From my perspective from those Countries where Indians/Chinese actually dominate the local businesses (the ones i dealt with anyway) was that blacks although smart (and acted far less cocky and arrogant than American Blacks) have a propensity to wasting money without ever building wealth. Even in Africa i found they still had a victim attitude and always felt they were owed something - this is just my perspective based on my business dealings and i am being honest as i can without trying to be prejudice (anecdotal evidence at best).
If i were to guess why Black Americans don't thrive is the fact that the leaders are terrible, they look to blame without looking within their own communities. Moreover, there has been no history or teaching of building wealth amongst Black families (maybe due to slavery) and this is a major attribute to all successful groups. Those who squander money irresponsibly or have never been taught how to invest will never build true wealth and prosperity.