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Alternative answer: America's geography makes all the important things easy, leaving us the resources to take risks and innovate. We have some of the best farm
by oillio 6y ago
Alternative answer:
America's geography makes all the important things easy, leaving us the resources to take risks and innovate.
We have some of the best farmland in the world. With a river system to feed it water and easily transport goods. As well as a relatively flat landmass to facilitate transportation of people and goods.
Add to that the largest energy deposits in the world, and nearly every other natural resource needed to run a modern economy.
We have it pretty easy. A highly inclusive democratic society is just the cherry on top that pulls it all together.
And BTW- Chinda does not come out very well on any of those metrics. They are a massive net importer of food and energy, for instance. That makes it much harder for them to come out ahead in a global economic shock. Say one brought on by a global pandemic.
- raducu 6y agoBy no means trying to be racist or dismiss the natives, but the geography of North America surely did not change since white man came. Which clearly shows culture is probably just as important as geography.
- oillio 6y agoThe pre-industrial world was a very different place than where we live now. Back then, technology and information gave you a massive advantage. Nowadays information moves relatively freely. Also, there were some extenuating circumstances. An epidemic that wipes out 90% of your population makes it pretty hard to compete.
- readarticle 6y agoIn the sense that “being exposed to the literal rest of humanity’s innovations” is culture, yes. Anything and everything had to be independently developed in the Americas prior to contact due to isolation, the white man backwater of Europe got to ride the coattails of R&D across the entire Eurasiafrican supercontinent for millennia, as a comparison. For a concept like a wheel to spread from, say, Northern China to Southern Spain, they could literally just roll on over.
- enaaem 6y agoCould it be the lack of horses? Horses enables faster transportation and communication over a larger distance. This is essential for trade, governance and technology transfer.
- OldHand2018 6y ago> the geography of North America surely did not change since white man came Effectively, it did change. The Erie Canal, the Welland Canal, and the Illinois & Michigan Canal were transformative. And then the railroads came...
- LargoLasskhyfv 6y agoWhite Man in NorthAm came into post-apocalypse caused by sickness, brought on by earlier White Man in SouthAM and LatAM, spreading northwards. And maybe, just maybe a lil' bit of climate change.
- ksec 6y ago>We have some of the best farmland in the world Is that still the case though? Things are changing, and it seems things aren't as good as in the old days with draught, and climate changes.