Nations are not alike. The differences are often imperceptible, but in the complex adaptive systems minor differences bring major results. Korea developed while Vietnam didn’t. Singapore maintains an advanced economy while Malaysia is a backward, labor-oriented economy. Japan evolved into a technological hub, but neighboring China didn’t. In retrospect, differences can be found in each of these cases. Korea has a strong culture of learning, Singapore’s excellent leadership attracted the most industrious Chinese and Indian immigrants, and Japan has had a design-minded culture for a millennium. Vietnam was burdened by a communist government, China is too huge to experience labor shortages and the resulting upward pressure on wages—a necessary pre-condition for the continuous upgrading of an economy—and Malaysia is possibly weighed down by its Islamic culture.

An economy develops in clusters. Success builds on itself. Successful economies continuously upgrade themselves. Lackluster societies fall behind. Modern manufacturing or agriculture doesn’t require many hands, and many nations compete for primitive labor-intensive operations in the world of economic specialization. Several Asian nations had an opportunity to slip into the gap in the post-WWII world economy. Salaries in the US were very high relative to other countries, the worldwide demand was huge, supply was insufficient, new technologies were many, and tariff barriers were moderate. That window of opportunity is long closed, and will remain so until the next crisis or technological revolution.

Academics can argue forever what went wrong with Muslim societies. The hot climate, which is not conducive to agriculture or society-building, is one obvious answer. It doesn’t answer why in the hot climate Thais are friendly while neighboring Indonesians are xenophobic. It explains the lackluster performance of Saudi Arabia but not that of Iran. Iran is a millennia-old agricultural society, with the development framework of statehood, relatively tolerant religiously, and its people are not Arabs. Iran is well advanced of its Arab neighbors, but lags far behind the developed Asian economies. Many explanations are possible, but who cares about them? The fact is, the Muslim societies have fallen behind in the world economic race and won’t rebound in the foreseeable future. Israel is surrounded with failed civilizations, the global inner city.

The cravings for peace are utopian.