Capitalism 01 - Why Are Some Countries Rich and Others Poor?

In the 1970s the United States launched Pioneer 10 and 11 and Voyager 1 and 2--4 spacecraft designed to travel out of our solar system and on to other stars. Each of these space probes contains information about the Earth and directions to our planet. Each is now billions of miles from the Earth, traveling in different directions at tens of thousands of miles per hour.

An ingenious race of interstellar travelers may one day discover one of these spacecraft. If they followed the directions to our planet, would they be able to answer a question that people have debated for hundreds of years, namely, what is the source of wealth and prosperity?

Why are some countries rich and others poor? Why are some of the countries with the fewest natural resources, such as Taiwan, Singapore, Luxembourg and Switzerland, among the wealthiest countries? Why is the average annual income in San Diego over 4 times as much as income in Tijuana, Mexico just across the border? Why does the average worker in South Korea earn over 17 times as much as the average worker in North Korea? Why is the average income in the United States and Switzerland over $30,000 but less than $1,000 in Nigeria and Afghanistan?

One of the first economists to systematically study the question of why some countries enjoy prosperity was a Scottish professor named Adam Smith. In 1776 Adam Smith published his most famous work, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. Smith argued that a country would be prosperous if farms and businesses were privately owned and allowed to operate without tariffs, taxes or licenses.

1. By: benevictus
2. Categories News & Events
3. Views 19
4. Added :03-Jan-12
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