Japan, Germany, and China's success had one thing in common. They were given preferred trading opportunities with the biggest economy in the world - USA. You can add South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Israel, and Chile to that list. Fair trade activity is the primary driver for economical growth. PhDs do help in sustaining that development.
You know what they say about succeeding in your job or business - it is who you know more than what you know. Maurice associates the success of any community or individual to the mysterious smart gene that the community/race/individual may possess and we will discover one day. Elmatador ascribes it to smart or stupid languages.
I lean towards the theory that the access to and interaction with the powerful of the day is the key factor in determining the success of a community or an individual. The access may be due to accident of birth or location, or could be legitimately earned by going through the right hoops (learning a particular language well, going to the right schools, getting accepted at the right companies or political parties, or b just working hard and successful and being noticed)
This could explain the following:
1. Countries with strong trade relationships with USA and UK had advantages that could make them rich (not necessarily more democratic).
2. Communities favored by the British were very successful at one time in their colonized lands and lost that edge when the British retreated. In India, the Parsis who were close to the British, are still one of the most successful communities in India, two generations after the Parsis left India. Fittingly, the daughters of the first heads of state in India (Indira Gandhi, daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru) and Pakistan (Ms. Wadia, daughter of Jinnah) got married to Parsis.
3. Jews in Europe. They were a successful community in Europe and brought their memes to USA and Israel.
4. In companies, being able to talk the talk or play golf with(allowing interaction to talk the talk) the higher ups will allow one to rise in the company.
5. The same smart or stupid individual can acquire the option to spend 10 times the wealth of the world by moving to the right country.
>I have to add: It is not an army of PhD that makes an economy take off. It wasn't with Japan, it wasn't the case with Germany nor is today with China.> |
