Building a Strong Economy
So I bumped into this economic research documentary seeking the various factors that contributed to the growth and development of the World’s biggest ever economy and democracy. What can I say? I am that kind of guy and I had bumped into a gold mine.
Apparently the USA as we know it today was desolate, devoid of natural resources, not agriculturally as productive basically a huge chunk of arid and unproductive chunk of land seated North of the arable and rich American land, for those joining that is South America & Mexico. Spain, having landed in that side of the world early had realised this and the British came in much later after the Spanish had called dibs(or whatever equivalent existed in the 1600s) and this the different trajectories set in.
The current border between Mexico and the United States is so evident even without the ‘Great Wall’ proposed by President Donald Trump. Development clearly stopped at some point despite the same terrain, weather and climate. On one side we have posh holiday villas, manmade ponds, lash green golf courses and mansions fit for Kings residing the Billionaires of the World. On the second side, the land is bare, scorching, expansive, undeveloped and has stayed untouched by the tentacles of governmental development. This baffles so many, especially knowing that Mexico was and still is naturally wealthier than their Northern neighbours.
As it were the Spanish colonisers came into the Americas with such an appetite to subdue and live off the resources of the land, the locals as the cheap(read free) labour needed for such luxuries and frugality. Consequently their needs led them to capture and settle in the most productive of the new lands, syphoning off the resources and indigenous people of the land. The intention being to enrich themselves before any other European colonial machinery got wind of it. It was much later that Great Britain learnt of the crazy amounts of wealth that were emanating from the Americas in favour of the Spanish, prompting their conquest into the same Americas, taking over the Northern uninhabited and harsh regions. And thus the different trajectories begun.
The Spanish South embraced an elitist style of society, where there were classes of citizens (read humans) at the very top there was the White immigrant, popularly known as settlers, with the locals serving as slaves to toil the land and mines with little or no pay. Suffice it to say that everyone envied the rich settler with his/her (cz Gender equality cuts across all matters) palatial home and security.
In Northern America though the difference was very clear, Britain (the Great) had made the land a protectorate ans left it to its savage ways unsupervised because, Why waste resources governing an unproductive landmass? As a result the Europeans who had come to settle in that land escaping religious persecutions back home, the indigenous inhabitants and any other visitor from wherever(resettling in new lands and starting over had caught on) had to make do without a European overlord. This meant conflicts often escalated to such heights that only meant certain death, the strongest survived and the most powerful thrived until another came up, popularly known as The Wild Wild West! (a movie comes to mind) This propelled the inhabitants of the land to develop a sort of governing law, treaties between warring clans and conflicting regions.
The problems addressed were poverty and development, trade was embraced and a rule of law enforced with such energy because they had seen the total lack of it (think of the Texas Rangers) A government slowly developed, a law-abiding society slowly crept into the land and with it sanity. Peace treaties like the famous ‘Thanks Giving Day treaty’ served to bring North America closer to Peace. Perhaps the biggest notable change is that with the development of law and order individuals felt that their business interests were protected and this more business cropped up, trade surged and hard work was embraced, mostly because the society had no alternative moreover all the wealthy individuals had traceable wealth, wealth that they toiled for for years, there was no shortcut lest a social upheaval blew up.
Sharp contrast is that the South Americas learnt that to enjoy a good life or prosperity you had to be in the elite class in the society so that you feed from those below you as opposed to the ‘Hard-work is a sure way to Success!’ way from North Americas. The result was a scramble to the top, for all alike, loss in productivity and damages caused unconsidered. As a result the region didn’t enjoy a development in law and order as their Northern counterparts, the laws that existed were selectively applied often in favour of the elite groups.
Today one can see how much this foundation has set these nations apart, where in South America whatever items that would place you on top will be pursued and killed for, after all you were untouchable once you reached on top, whatever ‘eggs’ you broke en route forgotten, corruption thrived! What resulted is a resource rich, arable land with a population toiling in abject poverty. North America though things couldn’t be more different!
In retrospect, I wonder what direction we are taking as a country. So far we tick some crucial milestones as the chaotic South Americas, I just wonder how far we are in whichever direction…..