Assets and Liabilities - Why Nations Are The Way They Are. Saturday's Core Brief
Which Nations Make The World Better? Series 15 #6
The ten countries we examined this week reveal why some nations work and others don’t. The difference isn’t wealth or geography - it’s culture.
The five asset nations make choices such as delivering safe water, educating their citizens, and running grids on renewable energy. The five liability nations fail at all three: Chad exports oil but electrifies just 11% of its territory, North Korea hides numbers while children starve.
Six cultural patterns determine whether nations deliver for citizens and protect ecosystems. Expecting equality (low power distance) forces governments to provide universal services. Prioritizing quality of life over power and money drives investment in education and healthcare. Applying rules to everyone (universalism) makes government budgets transparent. Working with natural systems (external direction) lets forests regrow, and rivers flow clean. Sharing benefits across communities (collectivism) builds renewable energy faster. Protecting ecosystems for future generations (long-term orientation) means refusing permits for logging and mining today.
