So I think one can say on empirical grounds - not because of some philosophical principle - that you can't have democracy unless you have a market economy.

Even if one is interested only in one's own society, which is one's prerogative, one can understand that society much better by comparing it with others.

If the cultural elite has its way, the U.S. will be much more like Europe

Institutions provide procedures through which human conduct is patterned, compelled to go, in grooves deemed desirable by society. And this trick is performed by making these grooves appear to the individual as the only possible ones.

Religion is the human attitude towards a sacred order that includes within it all being-human or otherwise-i.e., belief in a cosmos, the meaning of which both includes and transcends man.

India is the most religious country in the world, Sweden is the most secular country in the world, and America is a country of Indians ruled by Swedes.

Our institute's agenda is relatively simple. We study the relationship between social-economic change and culture. By culture we mean beliefs, values and lifestyles. We cover a broad range of issues, and we work very internationally.