There are a lot of reasons the United States has prospered as a country in terms of capital generation, ranging from geography to demographic structure. Biggest reason? It's a big, diverse country. There's a lot of ways to generate capital and while not every method of doing so is a great return all the time, the United States has such diversity that something is always generating a really good return. Does a single European country have access to 1) a ridiculous amount of base power due to hydroelectricity, 2) the largest swath of arable land in the world, 3) easy to access fossil fuels, 4) some of the world's best ports? Starting simply with the land the United States is built on, it has a big advantage over most every country in the world. Even when comparing against other large countries (by area):
- Russia and Canada are cold. Really cold. Most of their landmass is difficult to access and use.
- China is mountainous. The majority of it's population is concentrated in coastal areas, with very little internal access to take advantage of what productive areas there are in the interior
The way the United States differs is that it has all of the good geography things with very few of the bad geography things. What other large country is set squarely in a temperate climate with just about every geography (river, plain, coast, port) on demand and easily accessible?
Bigger isn't always better, but the United States's geography is really good at allowing it to prosper. A popular author in the area of "American predestination for greatness" is Peter Zeihan: https://www.amazon.com/Accidental-Superpower-Generation-American-Preeminence/dp/1455583669/ref=tmm\_hrd\_swatch\_0?\_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
America is in a really shitty place right now politically at least, but it's certainly not failing. Buy him this book: https://www.amazon.com/Accidental-Superpower-Generation-American-Preeminence/dp/1455583669
Which is basically talking about the US' current situation, including the rise of other powers, but basically that the US is still super strong and will continue to be for a long time. Great read.
I didn't see that as a limitation of Harris' argument, because it's my understanding that he views the world's problems as being focused through the lens of religion. It didn't cross my mind that this quote may refer to beliefs in general.
>We know from history that people are less violent and more productive when they abandon tribal and religious beliefs about the world.
We're in agreement there.
>Almost all of the suicide bombers in history have been religious.
Okay, but they also represent a tiny fraction of history's evils, so I don't see a special relevance to that.
I strongly believe that geographical features of the regions of the world have a more potent influence on cultural behaviors and beliefs than any inherited philosophy or religion (for instance, see: Accidental Superpower). Perhaps to some degree only Islam could set deep roots in the arid clime of the Middle East. Which is to say that nobody watered the tree, and therefore there's no gardener to blame. My point-of-view is a bit nihilistic though, so I'm not sure what may be made of it.
In summation, I don't believe religion or education or economics get to the "first principle" of what makes someone blow themselves up.