The other thing
"If this is not a value judgment, what is it?"
Well, yes, I think we should mainly for pragmatic terms of winning the cultural conflict going on between the civilizations of the past and the children of the renaissance. Plus, I think America should be #1 in everything that matters... I'm just arrogant that way I guess.
The hand that holds the rice can be very convincing. Right now most of the global rice is being distributed by our detractors.
Its a long leap from value judgement to evaluations of moral worth, BTW.
Davin