Why is America So Rich?

[get these nets]

330 million people on the 3rd largest country on Earth. North America just happens to be one of the most diverse resource rich continents on Earth and the US owns nearly all of it.

Canada says Hi & Bye.

 

[YamakaSmacker]

Crimes unaccounted for

 

[NoGutsNoGLory]

This and the Atlantic Ocean shielding this country from the two Great Wars

That's it

I wish people knew just how much America made off in slavery

But Brazil had more slaves than the United States and for even longer with slavery ending in 1890.....and they are poor as fukk, Canada has an economy almost as large as them.

 

[mbewane]

More slavery, war profiteering, and brutality than any other powerhouse

This is wrong. The USA hasn't had an edge in economics for a while now.

The USA became filthy rich due to WW2.

WW2 destroyed Europe and Asia and the USA was untouched. Thus the USA became the World's number one producer.

The same accumulation and mobilization if capital to gear up for the war was then used to sell shyt.

Britain and France retreated from the world stage to lick their wounds. Japan became a USA colony pretty much. China closed itself off and reorganized their society.

Only country that was left, that had any real power to challenge the USA was the USSR.

By the 1970s, Japan bested the USA's auto industry. By the 1990s, Japan was considered an economic rival to the USA.

Due to the Cold War, the USA created NATO shf rendered many militaries in Europe obsolete. Therefore many Europe countries decided to create social democracies to serve their citizebs while the USA essentially vows to protect them .

The USA isn't number 1 anything besides incarceration rates, military spending and drug consumption.

The USA reputation as an economic powerhouse that gives people a true middle class life was one period of time after WW2.

When the rest of the world reorganizing itself and the USA had no competition.

Slavery
Stolen land
Bountiful natural resources
Isolation from other continents

All of this

It's understated how HUGE invading America and slavery provided huge amounts of initial capital, free land and free labor to early Americans. Land for example has always been extremely scarce and "expensive" in Europe -hence wars since forever until WW2-. Europe benefited from slavery too, but didn't have free labor IN EUROPE : slaves were far away, meaning that contrary to the US if you wanted to build something in Paris you couldn't use slaves, you had to pay (badly) your workforce. Hell wasn't the White House itself built by slaves? (maybe that's a myth I read somewhere, if so never mind). All in all it helped to accumulate capital.

Also the fact that the US is a "new" country meant that no one was held back by centuries of conventions, social sructures and what not. When you start from scratch it's easier to test new things.

Obviously the very fact that US mainland is huge, mostly with reasonable weather, water, woods, natural ressources, etc...and well populated. Isolation has helped the US a lot (as well as Canada) and having a big unified internal market (same language and currency) was vital. Look at Europe, all countries are really small, speak different languages, have different religions, etc (look at how it's hard to make the EU work).

And then like breh said WW2 and the demise of Euro powers sealed the deal.

The true genius, aside from all these historical and natural advantages, is that Americans understood early that culture is money and a ways of dominating other countries. "Soft power" is a big reason also, imo, that the US has gotten to the top. Regardless of actual economic statistics, as long as you're the one setting the trends you're on top.

 

[get these nets]

Slavery (governments subsidizing industry with human misery), put us on the map, but it was not having a class system that put us over. In a lot of countries in the world, you're locked into your social strata. In the US, we got brehs who were hustling on corners cracking 10 figures

Thats not saying there isn't institutional classism and racism, but you come from the gutter in 95% of countries in the world, thats where you die. Here, you at least have a chance.

I agree with this more than anything else posted here...including my own reply.
education and the possibility of social mobility fueled industry& commerce.

I've said in many of the "why are there flag waving (white)patriots"? threads that this country gave them the opportunity to be something other than peasants . Which is the class they came from and where they'd be today in their home countries.

Immigration rules are different these days..and those from peasant classes don't make it here(with the obvious exceptions) but the people who come here have opportunities here that do NOT exist elsewhere.

I believe this country had the world's first free public school system.This is as vital to this country's success as almost anything .

 

[The Devil's Advocate]

But Brazil had more slaves than the United States and for even longer with slavery ending in 1890.....and they are poor as fukk, Canada has an economy almost as large as them.

slavery is the easy cop out. if we didn't have laws written in place, to allow the system to rape the world financially, we'd be another avg country

 

[The Devil's Advocate]

documentary is coming out on this very subject

 

[BlackJesus]

While these are all possible scenarios shouldn't that mean Brazil should be equally as rich? They had slavery and were protected by the ocean from major wars.

There has to be some other secret sauce.

 

[sayyestothis]

America is rich and a leader because it leads in innovation and creation. These things bring cash. Cash brings military. Military gives us power.

 

[JahFocus CS]

Good article that provides some historical and analytical context that is relevant to understanding the question posed by OP: The Apocalypse of Settler Colonialism | Gerald Horne | Monthly Review

 

[TRFG]

slavery is the easy cop out. if we didn't have laws written in place, to allow the system to rape the world financially, we'd be another avg country

Basically this, there's laws written and the use of the military to intimidate countries into trading with the USD but that will all come to an end thanks to Trump and his plans to isolate the USA and silly trade wars

 

[Zak Bible]

beautiful cinematography

 

[TEH]

The answer is slavery ...

Any other answer is bullshyt...

 

[Indiglow Meta (R$G)]

Guns , Germs and Steel ...

That's white people in general.