LAWRENCE E. HARRISON

Culture does matter, but politics can change culture.

Human progress lags most in societies in which illiteracy is highest, above all in Islamic countries and Africa.

For politics to change … culture must change too --- and that takes much more than dispatching troops, holding elections, and writing constitutions.

Protestantism, Judaism and Confucianism have been the religions more conducive to progress while Islam, Catholicism, and Orthodox Christianity have been the least conducive.

Some cultures and some religions do better than others in promoting democracy and prosperity…. Where culture is adverse, a blind belief in the power of freedom is a frail foundation for U. S. policy.

Some cultures and some religions do better than others in promoting democracy and prosperity…. Where culture is adverse, a blind belief in the power of freedom is a frail foundation for U. S. policy.

For politics to change … culture must change too --- and that takes much more than dispatching troops, holding elections, and writing constitutions.

Human progress lags most in societies in which illiteracy is highest, above all in Islamic countries and Africa.

Culture does matter, but politics can change culture.

Protestantism, Judaism and Confucianism have been the religions more conducive to progress while Islam, Catholicism, and Orthodox Christianity have been the least conducive.