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Some years ago, P.J. O'Rourke wrote a book called Eat The Rich. He showed, in a roundabout way, that the success or failure of any state/nation has little to do with 'natural resources' and/or the particular piece of real estate they occupy, and is dependent almost exclusively on the quality of the population themselves, namely work ethic.

[ChessExpert]

Sounds like a good book and a valid conclusion. It is a response to many who have argued otherwise.

I suggest that, over the long term, culture follows economics. Any people will shift from work to welfare if work is overly penalized and welfare too generous. The opposite is also true.