But doesn't that imply that the people of, for example, Iraq got exactly the government they deserved.
No, I don't see that dlgood's statement implies that at all. "Deserve" has a connotation of judgement. That's a subjective assessment that's dependent upon a specified value system. "Tends to be reflective of traits" merely suggests that the nature of the institutions are related to societal charateristics - and, obviously, the presence of an occupying military force is a pretty big charateristic.
Iraq under Saddam was a divided country held together by (1) Saddam giving out goodies to the Sunnis and (2) violent oppression of the Kurds and Shites. That is reflective of the society, but not - from my viewpoint - what many in the country (if any) deserved.
no subject
No, I don't see that dlgood's statement implies that at all. "Deserve" has a connotation of judgement. That's a subjective assessment that's dependent upon a specified value system. "Tends to be reflective of traits" merely suggests that the nature of the institutions are related to societal charateristics - and, obviously, the presence of an occupying military force is a pretty big charateristic.
Iraq under Saddam was a divided country held together by (1) Saddam giving out goodies to the Sunnis and (2) violent oppression of the Kurds and Shites. That is reflective of the society, but not - from my viewpoint - what many in the country (if any) deserved.