In 1980's, my parents told me that Romania had a huge load of work to do in order to get rid of the communist regime. But, in 1989, the revolution turned that around. Now, in the 00's, it is said that Romania needs 80 years to reach EU standards. But what if it happens like in 1989 and we reach there faster than expected?
To kill Nicolae Ceausescu would've required a single bullet. To bring Romania (or India, or any other country) upto Western standards of living is not quite as simple. It takes under a second to pull a trigger; to build roads, train doctors, and form democratic institutions takes decades.
A friend of mine told me he didn't think it was possible for the world to achieve Western standards of living at all; there just aren't enough resources. While this is not a zero sum game (i.e. improvements to the standard of life in the third world do not necessarily have to lead to declines for the same in the West), I think he does have a point. We're never all going to be driving SUVs. Which is part of why I'd like open borders- it would greatly speed up the process of levelling the playing field.
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timeasmymeasure
Re: Reply no 1 - Romania on the way to the EU, or is it???
Date: 2004-01-13 06:59 am (UTC)To kill Nicolae Ceausescu would've required a single bullet. To bring Romania (or India, or any other country) upto Western standards of living is not quite as simple. It takes under a second to pull a trigger; to build roads, train doctors, and form democratic institutions takes decades.
A friend of mine told me he didn't think it was possible for the world to achieve Western standards of living at all; there just aren't enough resources. While this is not a zero sum game (i.e. improvements to the standard of life in the third world do not necessarily have to lead to declines for the same in the West), I think he does have a point. We're never all going to be driving SUVs. Which is part of why I'd like open borders- it would greatly speed up the process of levelling the playing field.