An answer to an old question

A viral email has offered the most plausible answer yet to one of my old questions about why people seemed happier in younger countries (less than 400 years old) and miserable in countries where civilization and the idea of goodness and universal harmony first started - read China, India, etc.

The viral email was in Powerpoint form but here it is in text form:

"The difference between the poor countries and the rich ones is not the age of the country.

"This can be shown by countries like India & Egypt, that are more than 2000 years old and are poor.

"On the other hand, Canada, Australia & New Zealand, that 150 years ago were inexpressive, today are developed countries and are rich.

"The difference between poor & rich countries does not reside in the available natural resources.

"Japan has a limited territory, 80% mountainous, inadequate for agriculture & cattle raising, but it is the second world economy. The country is like an immense floating factory, importing raw material from the whole world and exporting manufactured products.

"Another example is Switzerland, which does not plant cocoa but has the best chocolate of the world. In its little territory they raise animals and plant the soil during 4 months per year. Not enough, they produce dairy products of the best quality. It is a small country that transmits an image of security, order & labor, which made it the world’s strong safe.

"Executives from rich countries who communicate with their counterparts in poor countries show that there is no significant intellectual difference.

"Race or skin color are also not important: immigrants labeled lazy in their countries of origin are the productive power in rich European countries.

"What is the difference then?

"The difference is the attitude of the people, framed along the years by the education & the culture.

"On analyzing the behavior of the people in rich & developed countries, we find that the great majority follow the following principles in their lives:

"1. Ethics, as a basic principle.
2. Integrity.
3. Responsibility.
4. Respect to the laws & rules.
5. Respect to the rights of other citizens.
6. Work loving.
7. Strive for saving & investment.
8. Will of super action.
9. Punctuality.

"In poor countries, only a minority follow these basic principles in their daily life.

"We are not poor because we lack natural resources or because nature was cruel to us.

"We are poor because we lack attitude.

"We lack the will to comply with and teach these functional principles of
rich & developed societies.

So, is that a reasonable answer?

I can think of two places where the 9 points apply but the people there are still miserable, even bitter. Singapore and Hong Kong. Oh, and the US states of Michigan and Ohio after the 3 automakers collapsed.

So while it does seem to explain why some countries are richer than others, it still does not explain why some countries are happier than others.