>"do we really want to apply 16th century economics rules today? No" Well, it's not 16th century economics, it's economics if you are a already developed count

>"do we really want to apply 16th century economics rules today? No" Well, it's not 16th century economics, it's economics if you are a already developed country or a country in process of development. Those are different animals with different needs. Of course, now that USA or Europe is already developed is time to apply different rules. The economist Ha-Joon_Chang have a full book about those double standards called, appropriately in my opinion, "Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strategy in Historical Perspective" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ha-Joon_Chang https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ha-Joon_Chang) You talk about "stealing", so making a moral judgement. For me, the moral thing is to answer: what is the way that more people have a good life?