I tend to agree, but I’m not optimistic. Historically, the sort of liberal, open society we see in “the west” is an aberration. If there is a causal factor betw

I tend to agree, but I’m not optimistic. Historically, the sort of liberal, open society we see in “the west” is an aberration. If there is a causal factor between liberal, open societies and prosperity, it doesn’t seem to be particularly critical. People like to point to the fall of the USSR and the endurance of its former enemies as evidence that these societies are inherently more likely to succeed, but looking farther back in history, I’m inclined to think that was an anomaly. I’d very much like to be wrong, of course.