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Natural resources are not a primary or even secondary predictor of national production. This is a silly leftist meme.
Per OEC, the US's largest commodity export sector is "mineral resources", almost entirely in energy (oil, coal, etc.). The US is underperforming as a primary producer for regulatory reasons, but there isn't much under the ground that can't be found in North America.
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I don't see how natural resources can be as unimportant as you're claiming. You need something to work with in order for your nation to produce shit. That means either you need the materials yourself, or some other resource you can trade to those who do have the materials. Of course natural resources can't be the only factor, history shows that sometimes people with more resources wind up losing. But to say it isn't an important factor at all ("not a primary or even secondary predictor") seems like it's going too far in the other direction.
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National resources aren't the most important thing but they're certainly important. It doesn't hurt that Saudi Arabia has a gazillion barrels of crude. Back in the 1930s they were almost totally irrelevant, oil put them on the map. Nor is the US disadvantaged by having enormous reserves of oil, coal, iron and fertile soil.
If natural resource wealth were the primary determinant of economic success, South America would blow the USA out of the water with its relative geographic safety and immense wealth. Yet their people all seek to emigrate to the USA.
Speak to third world migrants and they all have a distorted but extant view of USA as the shining city on the hill where their labors will not be seized by a politico or a noble. For all the complaints about the oppressive foot of the US government on the necks of its people that commentators both left and right love to decry, nothing compares to the petty corruptions that smother daily life in third world countries. Hell, the US governmental oppressiveness does not compare to the bureaucratic machine steamrolling across people and businesses in relatively competent western european institutions.
The gilded cities of gold promised to migrants by their kin that landed in the USA through their own sweat and toil is real for them, when compared to the shittiness of their home countries. The USA is not Europe where the promises of riches and success are so dependent on navigating local bureaucratic contexts that the promises of wealth are afforded better by criminality and fraud.
USA is not perfect, and there are many migrants who have found the US wanting compared to their homes. But it is telling that there are so many more who wish to drape themselves in the stars and stripes and disclaim loyalty to their home countries. Grifters do exist, and the USA under the democrats refused to acknowledge that bad actors could possibly exist, but Europe provides both a compliant state and weak people to leech off on. Barring the Canadian collapse, the USA will be able to stave off the camp of the saints for a good while more.
South America isn't even that rich, so much of it is worthless jungle full of terrible creatures that eat you alive. They do have a lot of metallic minerals. But the US alone probably started off with more fossil fuels than all of South America combined, American resources are staggering.
Much of it's probably been drilled up by now but still, the US is the biggest oil and gas producer right now... Americans are far too eager to credit their institutions as opposed to their massive resource wealth, river networks, sea access, fertile soil and (most importantly) high performing demographics. Many have tried to copy US institutions and found it unhelpful, it's like rich people humblebragging about how they worked so hard. Hard work is some of the answer but it is not the most important thing, compared to working smart, being in the right place at the right time...
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