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Natural resources are not required to make a country an economic powerhouse. See Japan, for example. Hong Kong, Taiwan, S Korea. What's needed are free markets

Natural resources are not required to make a country an economic powerhouse. See Japan, for example. Hong Kong, Taiwan, S Korea. What's needed are free markets. Any country that wants to become a powerhouse has it within their grasp. Free markets.

TheSpiceIsLife 9mo ago
And political will. The Antipodes have such a problem with successful people we even invented a term for it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tall_poppy_syndrome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tall_poppy_syndrome On the subject of free markets, Australia excels. We even let foreign entities extract and sell our LNG and pay no royalties and no tax. https://australiainstitute.org.au/post/zero-royalties-charged-on-111-billion-in-gas-sales/ https://australiainstitute.org.au/post/zero-royalties-charge... Doesn’t get any freer than that!
- WalterBright 9mo ago
  Spain stripped S. America of its gold and silver, and neither Spain nor S. America benefited from it.
  - TheSpiceIsLife 9mo ago
    Doesn’t South America collectively produce more gold in one year than the Spanish usurped from them in their entire conquest period? Gold production by country: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_countries_by_mineral_production https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_countries_by_mineral_... In only the first half-century or so of the Spanish conquest of the Americas, over 100 tons of gold were extracted from the continent. - https://www.worldhistory.org/article/2045/the-gold-of-the-conquistadors/ https://www.worldhistory.org/article/2045/the-gold-of-the-co... Context is for kings though. In the context of what occurred when it occurred, you’re right. For a while there, Australia was known as ‘the lucky country’ because despite the folly of politicians, and general fallibility of humans, we had wealth for toil. Now we just give it away.

TheSpiceIsLife 9mo ago

And political will. The Antipodes have such a problem with successful people we even invented a term for it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tall_poppy_syndrome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tall_poppy_syndrome On the subject of free markets, Australia excels. We even let foreign entities extract and sell our LNG and pay no royalties and no tax. https://australiainstitute.org.au/post/zero-royalties-charged-on-111-billion-in-gas-sales/ https://australiainstitute.org.au/post/zero-royalties-charge... Doesn’t get any freer than that!

WalterBright 9mo ago
Spain stripped S. America of its gold and silver, and neither Spain nor S. America benefited from it.
- TheSpiceIsLife 9mo ago
  Doesn’t South America collectively produce more gold in one year than the Spanish usurped from them in their entire conquest period? Gold production by country: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_countries_by_mineral_production https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_countries_by_mineral_... In only the first half-century or so of the Spanish conquest of the Americas, over 100 tons of gold were extracted from the continent. - https://www.worldhistory.org/article/2045/the-gold-of-the-conquistadors/ https://www.worldhistory.org/article/2045/the-gold-of-the-co... Context is for kings though. In the context of what occurred when it occurred, you’re right. For a while there, Australia was known as ‘the lucky country’ because despite the folly of politicians, and general fallibility of humans, we had wealth for toil. Now we just give it away.