Braiding Prosperity

8/6/2019 Braiding Prosperity

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Inti Martínez-Alemán, Houghton College

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Braiding ProsperityBy Inti Martínez-Alemán

Introduction

There are numerous ways to define the word prosperity. Often, prosperity is used

interchangeably with the word wealth, while many other times it is associated with the word

success. In our modern world1, a nation’s prosperity is measured by how it achieves its goals,

realizes its societal ideals, and/or obtains physical commodities — e.g., silos for food storage,

mechanized means of transportation, highway systems, homes with running water, electricity,

and telecommunications system, the use of a common currency, a competitive education system,

etc. But, before creating a colossal country with stupendous infrastructure, the majority — and

ideally, all —of the country’s citizens should certainly have their basic needs met (i.e., access to

clean water, physical nourishment, and protection from the elements). If this is the case, then one

can say a society is prosperous. This essay intends to present the three basic strings necessary for

braiding prosperity in a country engaged in the modern world.

Braiding Prosperity

In order to create prosperity in a society it is necessary to find in this society the practice

of a strong work ethic, a culture that fosters creativity and innovation, and the presence of a

strong and fair state. These are the strings for the creation of prosperity in a modern nation. 2

1 Hereinafter, a “modern world” will be used to describe the collection of nations that fit the four characteristics of modernization proposed by Peter Berger in 1977: the decline of small, traditional communities; expansion of personal choice; increased social diversity; orientation toward the future and an increased awareness of time(Macionis, 641-642). These nations’ ideals, more or less, ar e to become industrial and/or post-industrial, high-tech,competitive, free market-oriented and fully engaged with the global economy — following the example of thedeveloped nations. The line for modernity may be difficult to draw, but surely does not include nations like NorthKorea.2 A nation engaged in the modern world, as described above




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The strings for creating prosperity are overarching and do not identify with one specific

economic system or form of government. Most of my examples discuss how each of the strings

for creating prosperity are used by individuals in a company or organization, in order to show

that if a nation is substantially composed by these types of individuals, companies or

organizations, prosperity can result in this nation.

A Strong Work Ethic

Empirically, this first principle is easy to explain and understand. As Max Weber points

out, individuals who are disciplined, organized, responsible, trustworthy, honest and perseverant,tend to be better off than those who are not.3 It is necessary for individuals in a society to

practice a strong work ethic in order to become prosperous. In our modern world, someone who

is not diligent, does not meet deadlines, and does not arrive to appointments on time, is usually

not well regarded by his or her employer, co-workers, or customers. An employee who takes on

dishonest practices, who cannot trust others or be trusted, and who cannot make a distinction

between work and play, will not be productive or prosperous. A strong work ethic in most jobs in

our service-based, postindustrial, world needs to be complemented by a high level of emotional

intelligence, too.4

Since one of the chief goals of our modern world is to get things done in the most

efficient and practical way possible, those who do not conform to this model, are, in theory and

3 Found in Weber’s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism4 Daniel Goleman, the author of Emotional Intelligence, popularized this term, which refers to human beings’ abilityto be “smart” beyond the deductive and rational way. He and other promoters of emotional intelligence basicallybelieve persons who are able to control their emotions (sympathy, empathy, modesty, anger, grief, happiness,patience, courage, repentance, delayed gratification, etc.); who can use their emotions at the appropriate time, withthe correct persons, and to the right extent; who can relate well to others’ emotional states; and those who have goodinterpersonal skills, tend to be more successful at achieving their goals.




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in practice, not prosperous. Nonetheless, in order for a society to become prosperous, practicing

a strong work ethic, alone, is not enough.

A Culture of Creativity and Innovation

Innovation, the valuable use of human talents and creativity, is crucial for the

sustainability and progress of our modern world. A culture of creativity and innovation is one

that encourages thinking “outside the box”: making clever associations between two or more

apparently unrelated concepts, combining several technologies for the creation of one grand

product, cooperating with other individuals to create a synergetic effect, and so on. In thecompetitive world that we live in, it is quite difficult to expect to become prosperous, while not

adjusting to our ever-changing world.

Employers expect more and more out of their employees. Employees must be several

steps ahead of competitors by developing cutting-edge ideas. They should know how and where

to find information that is helpful for the company. A good employee is time, cost and energy

efficient. He or she knows how to identify and tackle niche markets. Employers want employees

who are familiar with national and local laws pertaining to the business, and so on. An

administrative assistant in a firm might have a very strong work ethic, but if he or she is not

innovative, by thinking of ways to “get the job done” more efficiently (within the legal

parameters), someone else might snatch the job away.

In the Google Corporation headquarters, for example, employees are encouraged to feel

and behave as if at home in the workplace. Google’s philosophy does not require a suit.

Google’s culture is unlike any in corporate America, and it is not because of theubiquitous lava lamps and large rubber balls…. There is an emphasis on teamachievements and pride in individual accomplishments that contribute to the company’soverall success. Ideas are traded, tested and put into practice …. Meetings that would




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take hours elsewhere are frequently little more than a conversation in line for lunch ….This highly communicative environment fosters … productivity….5

In this case, we can see Google leaders using their creativity and imagination to foster even more

creativity and imagination for the prosperity of their company.Business owners in the developed world are not alone in the field of innovation. The

leaders of Almacenes Éxito from Colombia have learned that by working with the national

culture and helping to satisfy the needs of their employees, their own business is much more

productive than their competitors. Small loans, store discounts, refinancing, aid to afford

healthcare and education, and other benefits and incentives, are given to employees in order to

stimulate them and make them feel part of the company. It is in this large Colombian

supermarket chain that 94% of its 41,000 employees felt happy to work.6 In 2005, the Great

Place to Work® Institute put Almacenes Éxito7 in third place in Colombia for its overall

employee satisfaction. With this example, we learn that thinking outside the traditional

employer-employee relationship model — by stimulating employees and helping them meet their

needs — employees feel more attached to the company and better stimulated to work efficiently,

thus raising productivity. Caring employers make caring employees. Fostering creativity and

innovation, combined with the two other strings creates prosperity.

A Strong and Fair State

My conception of a strong state has nothing to do with an authoritarian or totalitarian

regime, or with a socialist country. Having a strong state in a country, as political economist

5 Google Corporate Information, “Our Philosophy”; available fromhttp://www.google.com/corporate/tenthings.html; Internet; accessed 11 November 2006.6 Almacenes Éxito, “¿Por qué trabajar con nosotros”; available fromhttp://www.elempleo.com/sitios_empresariales/exito/trabajar.asp; Internet; accessed 10 November 2006. 7 Interestingly enough, the word éxito means success, in Spanish.

http://www.google.com/corporate/tenthings.html


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Francis Fukuyama puts it, means having operational and efficient institutions such as law and

order, education, and healthcare. These socioeconomic and political institutions may be managed

privately, collectively, or by a combination of both. What really matters, at the end, is that these

institutions exist and are working well. This is ultimately the responsibility of the state.8

With a strong and fair state in place, entrepreneurs enjoy economic freedom 9; but if these

entrepreneurs break the law, they are to face the consequences without any type of favoritism. A

strong and fair state is one that balances prosperity with social justice — or economics with

equity, as Robert Kuttner puts it.10 It treats all citizens with equal respect and, rather than violate,

it enhances property rights. As Robert Bates suggests, by domesticating violence — usingviolence not to seize or to destroy wealth but rather to safeguard and promote its creation — a

state develops and prospers.11

In our modern world, governments need to stimulate the economy instead of suffocate it.

During the past couple decades the trend among modern nations has been the liberalization12 of

their economies in order to partake of the globalization phenomenon. Conventional wisdom and

much scholarship points to the conclusion that liberalizing a country’s economy is the best thing

a government can do for its country. However, although liberalizing a country’s economy

definitely stimulates the macroeconomy, it usually suffocates the people in the absence of a

strong state.13 In virtually all respects, the wealthiest and most developed nations in the world

8 Francis Fukuyama, State-Building (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2004). 3-239

Niclas Berggren, in his survey The Benefits of Economic Freedom, defines economic freedom as the degree towhich a market economy is in place, where the central components are voluntary exchange, free competition, andprotection of persons and property.10 Robert Kuttner, The Economic Illusion (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1984).11 Robert Bates, Prosperity and Violence (New York: W. W. Norton, 2001). 101-10212 Defined as allowing economic freedom (as defined by Berggren) to exist13 During the last several decades, Latin American countries have been prescribed strict economic policies by theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Unlike the Asian Tigers (more below), nations like myhome country, Honduras, have not enjoyed a prosperous economy, since there have not been strong socioeconomicinstitutions, which are the backbone for a free and successful market.




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have started off with, and maintained, a strong state for the creation of prosperity. In short, a

strong state is one that carries through with its goals and protects its citizens effectively; it

stimulates socioeconomic development by the realization of effective institutions. If an economy

is liberated without the presence of a strong state, the nation in reference can suffer from a lack

of economic and social development, as promised by economic liberalization.14

Having a strong state does not necessitate the implementation of excessive tariffs or other

trade barriers. Fukuyama explains that, in order to appreciate the importance of a strong state, it

is necessary to understand the difference “between the scope of state activities, which refers to

the different functions and goals taken on by governments, and the strength of state power, or theability of states to plan and execute policies and to enforce laws cleanly and transparently … [my

emphasis].”15 An institution such as the rule of law is crucial for a society to prosper. Even the

late Milton Friedman, dean of orthodox free market economists, recognized in 2001 that he was

wrong when he prescribed “privatization, privatization, privatization,” alone, for countries

making the transition from socialism. He acknowledged that compared to privatization, “the rule

of law is probably more basic.”16

A nation has to know how to compete with foreign goods, services, practices, and values.

Without a state to create and maintain socioeconomic and political institutions, the general

population will be hurt economically and will succumb to the deluge of foreign goods, services,

practices, and values. Before the Asian Tigers17 became wealthy and prosperous, they enforced

strict state involvement in order to develop socioeconomic and political institutions, combined

14 Fukuyama, 515 Ibid., 716 Ibid., 1917 Viz., South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan




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with an emphasis on exports and savings.18 With an educated, healthy, working, and saving

society, the Asian Tigers ensured that their goods, services, practices, and values could compete

with their foreign counterparts. It was not until these criteria were met that the Tigers actually

opened themselves in full force to the global economy. Without the existence of a strong state,

the Tigers would not have been able to compete with other nations; the same is true of practically

every developed nation.

Having a strong state is necessary, but not sufficient, for the creation of prosperity. A

government may implement the noblest economic policies in a country, but if the practice of a

strong work ethic and a culture fostering creativity and innovation do not exist, then prosperitystifles.

Summary and Conclusion

In this short essay, I have presented the three strings required for the creation of

prosperity in our modern world: the practice of a strong work ethic, a culture of creativity and

innovation, and the presence of a strong and fair state. Having only one of these strings, but not

the others, does not foster long-term prosperity. Even when a country’s economy is liberated, a

nation does not prosper unless a strong and fair state is present. A strong and fair state entails the

creation and maintenance of efficient socioeconomic and political institution like law and order,

healthcare and education. However, a strong and fair state, alone, is not enough for the creation

of prosperity. The practice of a strong work ethic by members of a society, and a culture that

inspires creativity and innovation are necessary, too. A discussion on the how-to for creating or

instilling the prosperity-braiding strings can be reserved for a future project.

18 Joseph Stiglitz & Shahid Yusuf, ed., The East Asian Miracle (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001)




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If we want to see developing nations prosper, and developed nations maintain their status,

these nations have to implement and maintain the strings I have presented. Without these strings,

developed nations would have never become prosperous, nor will developing nations ever

become prosperous. Economists like Niclas Berggren correctly suggest that it is under economic

freedom that there is economic growth. However, economic growth does not imply sustained

development or prosperity in a country. A government can liberalize a country’s economy, but if

there is not a practice of a strong work ethic or a culture for creativity and innovation, then

national long-term prosperity will not result. By the application of the strings I have presented, a

society can become a prosperous society — or, as economist Lester Thurow puts it, a “bold andself-confident” society — in this modern world.19

19 Lester Thurow, Fortune Favors the Bold , (New York: HarperCollins, 2003). 307




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References

Bates, Robert. Prosperity and Violence, 101-102. New York: W. W. Norton, 2001.

Berggren, Niclas. “The Benefits Of Economic Freedom: A Survey.” The Independent Review.8.2 (2003).

Fukuyama, Francis. State-Building, 3-23. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2004.

Goleman, Daniel. Emotional Intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. New York: BantamBooks, 1995.

Kuttner, Robert. The Economic Illusion. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1984.

Macionis, John J. Sociology. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2005.

Stiglitz, Joseph & Yusuf, Shahid, ed. The East Asian Miracle. New York: Oxford UniversityPress, 2001

Thurow, Lester. Fortune Favors the Bold , 307. New York: HarperCollins, 2003.

Weber, Max. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Translated by Stephen Kalberg.Los Angeles: Roxbury, 2002.

Almacenes Éxito. “¿Por qué trabajar con nosotros.” Available fromhttp://www.elempleo.com/sitios_empresariales/exito/trabajar.asp. Internet; accessed 10November 2006

Google Corporate Information. “Our Philosophy.” Available fromhttp://www.google.com/corporate/tenthings.html. Internet; accessed 11 November 2006.







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