Blog Post 11

Inayatullah's argument that states having a right to wealth is based upon the claim that states are unequally prepared for global economic competition. This week we are asked if the economic success or failure under such circumstances is a fair one. My belief is that economic success could be either fair or unfair whichever way you look at it; I mean it’s just life. But is life fair or is it unfair? Life is an unfair thing. Some people and countries have certain advantages and resources that other countries and people do not have access to. Can we do anything about it? A lot of times we cannot, but some countries do prove this statement wrong. I think that it is fair to say that some countries are more prepared for the global competition than others. But just because countries are not as well suited does not mean they can work hard and overcome this obstacle.

The United States is plentiful with natural resources such as coal and timber. With its ample amounts of natural resources, the United States is able to use that to its advantage in its economy. Is it fair that the United States has so many resources compared to other countries? No, it’s not, but life is unfair. The United States is able to benefit due to the fact we are naturally better off than some other countries. You just have to deal with what you’re given and make the best out of it. This is on contrast to other countries, like Japan have very little natural resources. They cannot use natural resources to add to their economy because they don’t have a lot. Since Japan is not very abundant in natural resources they had to focus on a different route towards economic success. The government instead chose to focus on industries that they thought would benefit Japan. As stated in a website called Japan: Post War Economic Recovery, the author writes, “The focus of development was on chemicals, iron and steel, shipbuilding and transistor radios during the 1960s, on automobiles and electronics during the 1970s, and on computers, computer chips and other high-technology industries during the 1980s.” Since Japan is not abundant is natural resources, and therefore were not naturally set out to be prepared in this global economic position, they were still able to work hard and overcome this obstacle. Today they have the third highest economy in the World, following both the United States and China.

So overall I believe that Inayatullah’s argument that states have a right to wealth based on the claim that states are unequally prepared for global economic competition true. Economic success under these circumstances is fair. Countries are given what they have to work with, and they have to make the most out of it. But even if countries are not as naturally well off as others they still have the potential to have as strong of an economy as other countries.

Source used: “Japan Economy Profile 2010.” IndexMundi. CIA World Factbook, n.d. Web. 7 Sept. 2010. .