America’s Share of the World Economy

Take a look at this chart of the wealth of nations.
This chart indicates just how dominant the United States of America is economically. Whenever you hear about the decline of the United States in terms of productivity, especially manufacturing, please keep in mind this chart.
China is catching up in terms of gross productivity, but in terms of productivity per capita, it is still a backward nation. At least two-thirds of China’s population lives on poverty-stricken small family farms. It is still a village economy. It is going to take decades for those people to drag themselves out of a level of poverty that Americans have not seen for two centuries.
Per capita output of the United States is high. Given the size of the country, which is either number three or number four the world, per capita output of the United States is mind-boggling. China, India, and Indonesia are backward societies economically. If we count the European Union as one country, then the EU and the United States are close. The West, meaning the West above the equator, is still dominant, and shows few signs of falling behind.

This post was published at Gary North on February 26, 2017.