Prosperity & Culture:The presidential candidate has copped a lot of criticism for attributing Israeli prosperity to its culture

Is Romney right about culture?

Robert Reilly

• Contrasting Israel and the Palestinian territories, he said, "You notice a stark difference in economic vitality. And as I come here and I look out over this city and consider the accomplishments of the people of this nation, I recognize the power of at least culture and a few other things."
• This is not the first time Romney has said such things. In his 2010 book, No Apology, Romney declared that “culture makes all the difference” in regard to differences between Israelis and Palestinians. 
• Romney attributes the larger point on the significance of culture to Harvard Professor David Landes’s Wealth and Poverty of Nations.
• Of course, howls of protest went up over his statement. Back home, Romney tried to explain his position in NRO online. He wrote that:

“During my recent trip to Israel, I had suggested that the choices a society makes about its culture play a role in creating prosperity, and that the significant disparity between Israeli and Palestinian living standards was powerfully influenced by it. In some quarters, that comment became the subject of controversy.”

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