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What If Being Born in the Right Country Matters More Than Working Hard in Barbara Ward’s The Rich Nations and the Poor Nations
What if two people work equally hard, have similar ambitions, and make equally intelligent decisions but one has a much better chance of becoming wealthy simply because of where they were born?
We like to believe that success is largely a personal achievement.
Work hard.
Get an education.
Develop useful skills.
Take risks.
Make good decisions.
And eventually, life should reward your efforts.
It’s an attractive idea because it makes the world feel fair. If everyone is responsible for their own success, then everyone theoretically has the power to change their circumstances.
But Barbara Ward’s The Rich Nations and the Poor Nations introduces a much more uncomfortable question:
What if the opportunities available to you were already shaped long before you were born?
Published in 1962, Ward’s book examines why some nations accumulated enormous wealth while others remained economically disadvantaged. She connects economic development with history, industrialization, colonial legacies…
