A good way to prevent harm is through the economic development of countries, as it is usually accompanied by progress that is not only cultural, social, and political, but also ethical and in the level of well-being. There is a cause-and-effect relationship between the former and the latter, similar to rain and the growth of plants.

Throughout the last few centuries, we have seen how, as a general rule, the increase in per capita income has been paired with fairer and happier societies in which to live. Almost all wealthy countries have high or fairly high-quality liberal democracies with rule of law that protects the human and civil rights of their citizens. They tend to be the most civilized and those that lead the happiness rankings.

In contrast, third and especially fourth-world countries suffer many cruelties, injustices, and rights violations. Related to all this, they tend to have lower levels of happiness. They usually suffer less stress because they take life in a calmer and more passive way, but in exchange, they are less satisfied with their lives because they have not created the favorable conditions to flourish. Consequently, many of their inhabitants dream of emigrating to the first world.

But wealth does not generate itself; it is created by the collective of individuals who make up a society through work, savings, and the use of those savings in profitable investments. It also comes from training, entrepreneurship, innovation, productivity, continuous improvement, and competitiveness—that is, offering a good quality-price ratio. These are all the ingredients that, if put into the pot and mixed together, will produce an excellent stew.

Read “Happiness-Oriented Economics”

Nothing worth having comes easy. Therefore, let us foster a culture of effort (which is different from over-exertion). Let us use our talents—everyone has their own—to create companies, science, technology, art, NGOs, etc. Using our innate abilities also brings us self-fulfillment and well-being.

On the political level, we should choose developmentalist parties oriented toward economic progress, purchasing power for all, and the various spheres of a country. It is preferable to spread the sails rather than drop the anchor, as those who preach economic degrowth would prefer. But we already know what has happened in countries that have declined, such as Venezuela, where more than 9 million people have been forced to flee a miserable existence to achieve a better life in countries that are developing. And many more wish to do so.

LIVE WITHOUT HARMING: Let us be aware of the harms of Chavism so they do not spread to other countries

LIVING WITHOUT HARMING: Let us warn of the harmfulness of the contemporary extreme left

HOW TO LIVE WITHOUT HARMING? Let us not ignore the far-left threat

LET’S NOT STEAL!: Let’s reject institutionalized theft

Let us make each generation more prosperous and advanced in all aspects than the previous one. Let us always climb one step higher. Thanks to this philosophy, my ancestors and those of almost all Europeans and Westerners in general—peasants who lived in extreme poverty—have left behind generations that are increasingly prosperous, educated, healthy, happy, and civilized.

At the level of economic policy, let us foster the factors that favor the growth of per capita income: reasonable economic freedom, education, entrepreneurship, innovation, digitalization, and automation. Also, the prevalence of productive investment over spending and consumption, and rewarding those who generate and contribute the most to society.

Read “Happiness-Oriented Policy”

Let us transmit first-world values to the next generations, in families and schools, and educate adults about them. Because the higher the percentage of inhabitants with that mentality, the wealthier and more advanced a country is, and vice versa. A society is a field in which it is desirable to have the maximum number of lush trees laden with fruit and the minimum number of sterile ones.

Therefore, it would be good to transmit these attitudes especially in the third and fourth world. Developed countries are so in general (with the exception of a few with many natural resources) because of their human capital. That is, because they have inhabitants who have worked (sometimes a lot), saved, invested, undertaken, invented, innovated, etc. If in other countries the majority of citizens acquire that same modus operandi and pensandi, they will also progress.

They will do so as much as the emigrants who went to the United States starting from scratch, with nothing to their name. Or like Great Britain with its Industrial Revolution, or the poor Germany of the early 19th century that became the world’s leading industrial power by the end of it. Or like Switzerland, Japan, Singapore, or South Korea, which, in just one generation, went from being very poor to wealthy. All of them did so without aid, and some without natural resources, but based on their own effort.

Let us learn from China, which was a very poor country until its President Deng Xiaoping proclaimed, “To get rich is glorious!”. And his people listened to him, following the path we have explained that leads to it, and as a consequence, in a few decades, THEIR GDP HAS MULTIPLIED BY 10! Let us multiply and add. Let us never subtract.

The solution to poverty in the third and fourth world is not so much development aid or the emigration of its inhabitants to the first world as it is the improvement of their pro-activity and pro-ductivity. Aid helps, to state the obvious, but it does not replace the main thing: getting to work or, to put it more bluntly, getting off one’s backside, just as most people in industrialized countries have done.

The more of a generative mentality we have, the better it will be for ourselves, our children, and society and the world as a whole.

LET US NOT STEAL!: Let us obtain wealth honestly

DO NOT STEAL, neither directly nor indirectly

LET US BUILD A BETTER WORLD: Let us orient ourselves toward excellence to achieve it

Thank you for sharing if you believe that the dissemination of these ideas will contribute to a more prosperous, advanced in all aspects, happy, and civilized world in which to live.