America is the richest country in the world. Karl Smith suggests three reasons why:
I am going to go pretty conventional on this one and say a combination of three big factors
- The Common Law
- Massive Immigration
- The Great Scientific Exodus during WWII
You’ll notice that four of the top five countries in the Human Development Indexhave the Common Law and the top, Norway, is a awash in oil. Without the petro-kronors they probably wouldn’t be so hot.
You’ll also notice that 3 of the top 4, again with Norway the odd man out, are immigrant nations. The founder effect here should be clear.
The bonus from the great exodus is definitely waning. Most of our hey-day German and Jewish scientists are dying off, but its still given us a boost that lingers to this day. There is no fundamental reason why the US should be the center of the scientific world but for a time it was the only place in the world safe for many scientists.
It’s interesting to note that of these “three big factors” — nondiscriminatory rule of law, inclusive immigration policy and scientific research — today’s Republican Party is actively hostile to the second two and historically hostile to the first.
This shouldn’t be a surprise. After all, the defining feature of conservative economics is the belief that we should claw back public investment in projects like health care, education, research & development, new infrastructure, new renewable energy sources, and more inclusive social life — things that, historically, are highly correlated with long-term national prosperity — in order to expand the private wealth of a very few.
Which brings us to the “big lie” of Republican economics. “Pro-wealth” Republicans are not really “pro-wealth” at all — they’re pro-private wealth, and have, at the same time, little regard for, and often active hostility to, the sort of public-wealth generating projects that Karl Smith lists above.
Photo Credit: TalkingPointsMemo