Why the West?

David Landes is one of America's most distinguished economic historians. He has a nice piece in the latest Wilson Quarterly explaining his view on why some nations have gained in economic and political power over the past several centuries and others have not. His perspective, articulated in greater detail in his recent book, The Wealth and Poverty of Nations, emphasizes entrepreneurship as a crucial variable and is therefore highly controversial. I think he's onto something, but people on the Left would disagree.