Freedom = Prosperity

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This last weekend, my fellows celebrated Independence Day. Well, most of them indulged their pyromania, gorged on beef and beer, and partied into the night. My beagle was not excited. What did I do? Well, I practiced John Hancock's signature, just in case I ever get the chance for that joke.

Although I argue with the premise of this video, the visual illustration is very stunning. In a visual representation of mathematical paradigms, Hans Rosling shows us what a difference the ideas and principles born, nurtured, and enabled by the Miracle of '76 made possible in the world today:

In general, as countries became industrial and free, they increase in both health and wealth, or at least one of the two. Freedom is inexoribly linked with prosperity no matter how most people define it. Despite bad wars, flu epidemics, the stock market crash, AIDS, cancer, etc., the quality of life has increased dramatically since 1810, which is very close to the time when America was born and when her Constitution was written, ratified, and first tested in war with Great Britain, which was one of the most prosperous nations at the time.

Colonized countries grow when they gain their freedom. At a very time when our leaders try to impress upon us dependency, history has shown that freedom allows men to best and most rapidly forge ahead in health, wealth and welfare. Differences notwithstanding, industrialization [think Capitalism] (which includes the infamous enemy of the Statist- Oil) lead to increased way of life. Africa may lag behind, but almost all African nations are better off today than any nation was in 1810. We often forget that, much as poverty may be an apparent problem among us today, many of those people would not have lasted very long if we lived in 1810. We truly have seen huge and historical progress.

We cannot make it to the healthy and wealthy corner by abandoning the principles that allowed some countries to break out in the first place. If we wish to be prosperous, healthy, and happy, experience and data have shown that free people are better off than any others at every other time. The longer you hold people pent up, the longer you hold them down from rising to their potential. That is the message of July 4th- that prosperity results when freedom expands.