The wealth and poverty of nations - Essay Example

Wealth and Poverty of Nations Galileo Galileo was a great astronomer. He is said to have invented the telescope. It was his initial findings based on his telescopic studies that led him to conclude, as some others during the Middle Ages, that the earth goes around the sun. This was considered heresy by the Catholic Church, who decided to punish Galileo for his impudence. Around 400 years later they apologized. NAFTA This is the North American Free Trade Association, which involves the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

All three countries have agreed to lower tariffs and ease trade amongst themselves. The treaty was signed in the mid-1990s, and is generally considered to be a big success. Treaty of Versailles This was the treaty that ended the First World War. It imposed the costs of the war on Germany. Some believe that the punitive nature of the treaty led to the Second World War. Hitler was able to exploit the negative effects of the treaty on Germans in order to come to power. The rest is history. Scramble for Africa This occurred at the end of the 1800s.

At the time, much of Africa was undiscovered by Europeans. European nations wanted colonies and they sought to grab as much African land as they could. Sometimes this was done through negotiations and sometimes through violence. Great Depression This was a terrible time in world history. It occurred in 1929, when the stock market crashed. It led to widespread job losses around the world and rapid inflation. The problems caused by the Great Depression were only really resolved with the coming of World War II and the greater productivity engendered by this conflict.

Landes' view of winners and loser According to Landes, some countries have won the jackpot and others have not. So many factors effect the distribution of wealth and resources around the world. Some of these are based on climate. Others on cultural issues. Landes looks at the West and sees how natural resources and flexible cultures that rewarded innovation came to be. The result was a great deal of wealth in America, Europe, and Japan. He writes about how inflexibility and tyranny prevented the generation of wealth in other parts of the world, leading these countries to become losers.

Overall, he shows how we only really have a small number of factors in our control when we consider what makes us a winner or a loser. So many things are decided for us. Islam as roadblock to industrialization It would be hard to describe modern Islam as a progressive religion. In countries where it is the state religion women have a miniscule role in the labour force and few rights. Economies in such countries are largely stagnant. In the West, the Reformation led to the rise of Protestantism and its work ethic.

Rather than accepting automatic entry into heaven, Protestants believed in working hard to get there. The same ethic is missing in Islam which be part of the reason that industrialization was so slow in these countries. Also, many Islamic countries embraced socialistic economic policies which led to government control of national industries and inefficiency. Islamic countries are also very inflexible and do not reward innovation.