The Myth of Natural Resources
Daron Acemoglu, and James A. Robinson argue that a nation’s economic problems are caused by a lack of inclusive political rights. Poor nations are poor because they are ruled by narrow elites that organize society for their own benefit. Nations are rich because they have succeeded in creating inclusive political and economic institutions that allow participation by all. Nature creates raw materials, not resources. It is human ingenuity and effort that transforms raw materials into resources, economic growth does not promote resource depletion. Ultimately, economic growth prevents resource depletion by allowing more creative minds to survive, to interact, and to innovate. Prosperity allows for a greater quantity of the ultimate resource: human minds.

