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Politics : War -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TimF who wrote (4674)	9/26/2001 12:14:14 AM
From: epsteinbd	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 23908

Right you are, Euro countries are rich, but only after they had mastered ship building. Let's take glimpse, not a Marxist one of course. Venice : monopoly on the commerce with the east. Did you see the palaces on the Grand Canal ? So many beauties- so many centuries. Spain an Portugal had the whole world to their West split for their unique benefit by the Pope : Treaty of Tortedesillias. Didn't last that long, (the steel was good, the management deceitful). France and England made huge fortunes on their empire. Till the sixties for Algeria. Belgium had it too, rich Congo. Visit Bruge, the northern Venice. Holland and the far east monopoly on vanilla, lots of cocoa. ( on the 18th century, a Dutchman retiring from Batavia after a fulfilled life was paying eight% insurance, and the amount was given to him in Holland. For the first time (I think) gold not being transferred from overseas, but only credited between two Houses. Sure "we" did build roads there, churches and even hospitals, schools and administrations, and didn't destroy any of them on departure, nowhere. But still. No historian or economist, to my knowledge, ever came up with the total sum per country. But some families grew immensely rich over here. In actual $ it could very well be in the trillions, and it had lots time to fructify, with no inflation. Some of the same applies for the US, with its new system, invented, Multinationals : quite an edge, Financial technology, no patent needed. Now take into account that what US paid for Alaska, 200M$ gold. That amount was "carried out" in any single month of 1902 when Nome was more fashionable than St. Tropez now.( Ok I'll admit I love Nome.) People from the other continents will never have such a manna. You are right however, hard work does it too, but so slowly. And if you have one kid too many, it doesn't add up. Finally "they" will not become richer than we, unfortunately, even if "they" do find a way (non Tech) to take (back) our wealth. They are just too numerous to get wealthy. Do Pasteur or Fleming have any moral responsibility ? Not in my view.