Why poor countries are poor

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TSDguy
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Why poor countries are poor

Post by TSDguy »

This isn't a groundbreaking article, but it's very well written. It also backs up all of it's assertions with simple examples, which is nice for the reader. Worth a look:

http://www.reason.com/news/show/33258.html
mikex1337
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Post by mikex1337 »

Thoughtful article, but next time, please summarize the main points of the article in your post, i.e. what you agree with.
Last edited by mikex1337 on Wed Jul 18, 2007 4:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Panther
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Post by Panther »

Asking what someone agrees with is a decent way to start the thread/dialog. Acting like there is some obligation for someone to summarize an article so that you don't have to read the whole thing, even saying "please", might be a little much.

I think I know the rules (since I wrote them), and there's no rule that requires anyone to summarize. There are two main reasons for this: 1) the person doing the summarizing may have a different view of the world than you do and take something that you would think is absolutely awful and summarize it to be the best thing since the beginning of the universe, 2) I've always gotten the impression on the many forums here and have maintained the position on this forum that everyone who is really interested in a subject ( and has the time :wink: ) should "do their own homework" on any given subject.

Be good to each other...
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TSDguy
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Post by TSDguy »

The title summarizes it. What points do you agree or disagree with? From memory (this was like a month ago) I agree with everything in the article.

As I mentioned, it's not anything you probably haven't already thought about, but for me, it solidifies a lot of items and thoughts into something... testable.
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Akil Todd Harvey
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Post by Akil Todd Harvey »

One of the most misleading aspects of any view of the third world versus the first is that you are comparing apples and oranges.........


In the West, large numbers of economic transactions are recorded (we track and record economic actitivty on macro and micro scales)........


if you and i barter for services, we are both required to list that on our tax forms as income and while most of us hide much of that activity, much economic activity that occurs here and is recorded also occurs in the developing world and is <b>NOT</b> recorded (thus, it appears as if less activity takes place since it is not recorded - kind of like a tree falling in the forest without a ranger to notice - it still fell, even if no one noticed it)........


much of the conomic activity of developed nations is not recorded, but that doesnt mean it doesnt occur, it just means it is hidden from view....


Suppose you are a farmer and you work somewhere a few hours a week to make some extra cash.....your offical income is less than mine since i work all week long, but you dont have to pay for food (you a farmer and you grow most of your own food and you dont report the economic value of the food you grow to anyone so it isnt counted as income and thus you arent TAXED on the income you dont have sine you work for your self most of the time) ....... your hosue costs so much less, you already own your own home but i have to work for thirty years to pay for my home since i was forced to build my home to stringent quality standards known as building codes........




if you or I go purchase fuel to heat our homes or cook our food, it is recorded and compared to last years consumption (as well as compared to the third world where many of such transactions are never even measured and yet the comparisons are made anyway as if they have any significance)........

you go pick wood off of a hill side and you never record the economic value of that wood being used (but we are deomized for using too much oil and causing global warming even though the oil i burn is done so much more efficiently).......

we may use too much energy in the west compared to our numbers, but the poorest nations of the world have too many people and use their resources in a manner that is highly inefficiuent and leads to global warming..........

one of the biggest reaons poor nations are poor is that they do not record vast amounts of economic transactiosn that occur on the micro scale........



in the poor countries, we are led to believe that there is a massive exodus from the rural areas to the cities and that farmers are being pushed off their lands...........

surprise, surprise,, the same thing happened in the developed nations and is still happening in the developed nations........




If those in the developed world produce a massive surplus of food that enables the developed world to readily overpopulate, we are demonized cuz it causes many of their farmers to have economic sustainability issues .............



If those in the developed world produce a massive surplus of food that is used at least in part to create alternative fuels (or simply additional fuels), we are demonized cuz it raises the cost of food in the developed world (and may lead to famine) even though the increased cost of food means that the farmers in the developing nations have a greater chance at success.........




It is a lot like the situation with those who cry "The sky is falling" with regard to glaobal warming.........

in one breath, they tell us that the last ice age was ten thousand years ago and we are due for another ice age (due to the cyclical nature of climate, we expect more cooling in our future based upon the climatic record) and in the next breath they tell us we need to be massively worried about global warming (when it could be the soccer mom and the lone SUV driver who may be stalling the next ice age)........
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Halford
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Post by Halford »

It always amazes me how ignorant people are. The thing aobut 3rd world countries or poor nations(look out USA) is that it is usually the governments that are bad, inefficient, corrupt, tyrannical, etc. and that the access to land, which is the major world problem,by the way, lies at the center of this discussion. Land distribution and ownership is seldom discussed but land is the base from which all wealth is produced. Governments do not create wealth: they extract or confiscate it. Most governments, especially the US, have vast tracts of land which they monopolize and then come the corporations,etc. I don't have time to delve into this as fully as I'd like but I have been concerned with these issues for many years.
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f.Channell
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Post by f.Channell »

Land and your health are the only things worth anything.
Unfortunately Government can take away your land by public domain.
They can even give it to private industry, IE-like the land the railroads were given, still happens today.

My favorite show "kung fu" with David Caradine, love how he looks at the money when they give it to him like a totally useless item. Family, friends and health were his important attributes.

Wish I could live like that. And catch arrows and beat up 10 cowboys!!

f.
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Jason Rees
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Post by Jason Rees »

On this topic, I recommend the book, "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies," by Jared Diamond. It's an exyhaustive and original volume that explores in depth this very question.

http://www.amazon.com/Guns-Germs-Steel- ... 080&sr=8-1
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