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- A Moral Framework for Civilization
- Israel’s Economic Triumph
- Israel and Strategic Defense
- The Graphene Future
A Moral Framework for Civilization
Celebrated futurist and economist George Gilder has released a timely new edition of his groundbreaking book The Israel Test, and he wants the world to understand one urgent point: passing the Israel Test is now more crucial than ever—for nations, for leaders, and for civilization itself.
Gilder’s Israel Test, first published in 2009 and now updated for 2024 with a foreword by Dennis Prager, lays out a provocative moral challenge: do you admire excellence and entrepreneurial genius, or do you envy and seek to tear it down? Applied globally, Gilder argues that how individuals and nations respond to Israel's extraordinary success is a litmus test for their broader values—economic, political, and spiritual.
“Colleges across America are measurably failing their Israel Test,” Gilder laments. “There’s a pervasive desire to tear down people who succeed, rather than admire and emulate them.” Yet, he insists, those who pass the test reap the rewards. And nowhere is this clearer, he says, than in Israel itself—a tiny, embattled nation that has become the technological and economic miracle of the modern age.
Israel’s Economic Triumph
Gilder marshals striking data: per capita income in Israel now surpasses that of Germany, the UK, Japan, and South Korea—for both Arabs and Jews. Using what he calls “time prices”—the real human time cost to acquire goods and services—Gilder contends that Israel may now be the richest nation in the world. And that wealth, he emphasizes, is not built on conquest or colonialism, but on creativity, innovation, and the triumph of capitalism over socialism.
That triumph wasn’t inevitable. Gilder recalls how Israel nearly collapsed economically in the 1980s under socialist policies and triple-digit inflation. It was only after a free-market turn—led by Benjamin Netanyahu and a wave of one million Russian Jewish immigrants—that the nation emerged as a high-tech powerhouse. “The entrepreneurial dream prevailed,” Gilder explains, “and that’s hard for many on the left to accept.”
“If you envy and tear down success, you will destroy civilization—not just America.”
—George Gilder, The Israel Test
Israel and Strategic Defense
Yet The Israel Test is not just an economic manifesto. Gilder draws deeply from biblical themes, particularly the story of Joseph and his brothers—betrayed not because of evil, but because of envy. “Resentment and envy are the drivers of anti-Semitism,” Gilder warns. And left unchecked, he believes these forces threaten not just Israel, but the very foundations of Western civilization.
Despite the torrent of media propaganda and anti-Israel agitation on campuses, Gilder remains hopeful. “Smart people understand,” he insists. “These protesters with the rings in their noses and excrement paintings—they're not the future. If they win, civilization falls into a new Dark Age.”
He also offers practical reasons for Western support of Israel, noting its indispensable role in defense and technology. From co-developing the Strategic Defense Initiative to designing Intel’s microprocessors, Israel isn’t just a beneficiary of U.S. aid—it’s a pillar of global security and innovation. “Without Israel,” he says, “companies like Google and Microsoft would be far smaller.”
The Graphene Future
And then there’s the future: graphene. Gilder speaks excitedly about this super-material—200 times stronger than steel and 1,000 times more conductive than copper. Of the 18 companies pioneering graphene under the leadership of U.S. chemist Dr. James Tour, 17 are in Israel. “Israel recognized its value first,” Gilder says. “The American venture capitalists didn’t.”
In sum, Gilder’s updated Israel Test is not just a defense of Israel—it’s a rebuke to the politics of resentment, a plea for truth over propaganda, and a rallying cry for those who cherish civilization. “If you envy and tear down success,” he warns, “you will destroy civilization—not just America.”
👉 Order the new edition of The Israel Test and subscribe to the Gilder Technology Report at GilderTechnology.com
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