Re:Why is America so rich?
by icegreentea on Friday November 12, 2010 @12:56AM
(#1896695)
For the most part of America's history, there actually is a difference between American character and most of the rest of the world. America was made up of those who decided to leave their home countries. Even in extreme cases (Irish Famine) it takes a 'special' type of person to willingly uproot themselves and move to somewhere else where there is no real guarantee of work or success. America (and other high immigration countries) DO fundamentally have a different character. Though it is not inherent, it's emergent. And therefore, if you're not careful, you can lose it.
People come to the US because they hear they can make a good living over there. None of the immigrants actually believe in any of the so called "American Values" that the right-wing media is so vocal about.
Most of the immigrants don't actually uproot their origins; most immigrant communities still bond with their own country men, and they're probably more loyal to their home country than to the US. (of course, they can't show it when they're interviewed by the media; they have to pretend they've ditched their origins and became "Americans").
The reason that places like the US are prosperous is down to the basics: Low corruption; a functioning legal system; public trust in the institutions of the state. These are the (interrelated, and mutually reinforcing) preconditions for a stable and prosperous society.
The US also has the advantage of very favourable geography - it has strategic depth, it is isolated on two sides by the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, and it has excellent internal transport routes to facilitate internal commerce (eg. the Mississippi River system).