The Nordic economies were also characterized by low-intensity agriculture, resource extraction, and tourism, as well as a remarkably similar 28M population vs 2

The Nordic economies were also characterized by low-intensity agriculture, resource extraction, and tourism, as well as a remarkably similar 28M population vs 26M Appalachians. Topographically, Appalachia isn't much different from places like Norway. Yet the Nordic situation couldn't be more different. The issues with Appalachia aren't the result of some impossible geographic curse, they're the accumulation of countless political and economic decisions against trying to improve the region. All it would take to fix it is decades of coordinated efforts at every level of society. Obviously that's not going to happen, but recognizing that it's possible is better than pretending that we don't have the ability to change anything about the situation.