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Technology Widens Rich-Poor Gap - By Phillip Emeagwali
Oil has made us billions and fuelled our economic stability, but oil has also
become the bane of our existence. For some, it is a curse that has caused
poverty and corruption, but for others it is an essential source of untold
wealth and power. But as the gap between rich and poor countries continues to
expand, it is clear that intellectual capital and technology rule the world, and
that natural resources such as oil, gold, and diamonds are no longer the primary
determinants of wealth.
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Surprisingly, nations with few natural resources demonstrate greater economic
growth rates than OPEC countries. Japan’s economic growth, driven by
technological superiority, outpaces that of Saudi Arabia; South Korea is growing
faster than oil-rich Nigeria; and Taiwan’s economy has moved well beyond that of
oil-rich Venezuela. The United States and Norway are also rich in oil, yet their
staggering economic growth comes from intellectual capital.
In reality, it is not money but intellectual capital that drives prosperity.
More important, perhaps, is the reality that poverty is driven and sustained by
a lack of intellectual capital.
The intimate relationship between intellectual capital and economic growth is as
old as humanity itself, and is well illustrated by this parable from ancient
Babylon (modern-day Iraq). A man asked his children:
“If you had a choice between the clay of wisdom or a bag of gold, which would
you choose?”
“The bag of gold, the bag of gold” the naïve children cried, not realizing that
wisdom had the potential to earn them many more bags of gold in the future.
Seven thousand years later, Iraq — the cradle of civilization — has its own
private bag of gold as it sits perched atop the world’s third largest oil
reserves. Meanwhile, Israel, tucked away in the hostile terrain of a barren
desert, has the clay of wisdom — the weightless wealth of intellectual capital
embodied in the collective mind of its people.
The striking economic gap that persists between rich and poor nations has
increased sevenfold over the past century to what is now an all-time high. The
accumulation of intellectual capital by rich nations has helped broaden this gap
because it has enabled them to control technology and collect hidden taxes from
less affluent nations. For instance, Nigeria pays a 40-percent “royalty” tax on
its petroleum revenues to foreign oil companies that are ripping out its family
jewels — the huge store of wealth in its oilfields. These oilfields started
forming when prehistoric, dog-sized humans — our common ancestor with the apes —
walked African grasslands on four legs.
Continued on Page 2
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