Data Happen, but How?

experiences with oil, either in the magnitude of its production or in the timing of its development. Quantitative differences in the importance of oil appear to account for the qualitative differences that, reproduced over time, explain the "durable distinctiveness" between the two cities. Capitalists associated with oil development shaped Ventura in a way that distinguishes it from Santa Barbara, where capitalists created a very different place. The historical experiences of Ventura and Santa Barbara do not seem to have been "broadly similar" at a meaningful level, at least in regard to the theoretical concepts that MF&P attempt to support empirically. This is not to say that comparative historical research cannot make character and tradition "tractable." Such an approach, however, recommends the detailed study of multiple communities that shared historical experiences at an analytically meaningful level.