Sentence:  Without these incentives to industry the Norwegian would be like the Laplander, without industry and civilisation ; and the nearer he <WSD>approaches</WSD> to the "beau idéal" of those political economists — to the state of being without a taste for these foreign and expensive luxuries — the nearer he <WSD>approaches</WSD> to the condition of the Laplander in the comforts and enjoyments of life. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To draw near, in a figurative sense; to make advances; to approximate.