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Why Isn’t the Whole World Rich?

asteriskmag.com

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Re: Why Isn’t the Whole World Rich?

#5
Make the question smaller. Why isn’t all of America equally rich? Why aren’t all neighborhoods in your city equally rich? The answers are similar: historical path dependence, founder effects, compounding network effects, and fortunate or unfortunate accidents.

Re: Why Isn’t the Whole World Rich?

#8
One reason is how much ever we try to disagree, the socio economic construct is still a zero sum game with an ever increasing pie. People who argue otherwise point to the size of the pie without practically ever stating what those in difficult positions can realistically do to get more of it.

Other reasons are that honestly there is not much "real work" to be done so we can argue that a very small % of existing population suffices for maintaining the system. The tiny elite (countries, billionares, intellectuals) essentially work towards maintaining their control over the system and resources.

Re: Why Isn’t the Whole World Rich?

#9
> Yet even though extreme poverty has fallen, in 2018 about 80% of the world population still had material living standards less than one-third of that in the United States.

That’s it right there. If wealth is relative then you can’t possibly create a system that will result in equality of outcome since we’re all born unique.

Re: Why Isn’t the Whole World Rich?

#10
post #5

Make the question smaller. Why isn’t all of America equally rich? Why aren’t all neighborhoods in your city equally rich? The answers are similar: historical path dependence, founder effects, compounding network effects, and fortunate or unfortunate accidents.

Much of the article focuses on institutions. So how would you characterize the institutions in poorer America as different? How, for example, does the historical dependency path manifest itself in the institutions of poor America?
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