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It's not the placement of smart people, it's the political climate.

When an idle ruling class of parasites siphons all the productive surplus of society, there's not a lot of room for innovation... Unless they come up with a gentleman's compact to dabble in gentleman scholarship.

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I don't know why you're being downvoted. The political climate, and more broadly the culture of a society, is the crucial component to whether or not technological progress happens. Evidence of this is all around us, even today. Look how much more progress there's been in South Korea vs. North Korea over the last 75 years. That is a direct consequence of the differing cultural and political climates.

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond addresses this head on - resources, safety and political climate seem to contribute a lot

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