Production and economy the basis of prosperity. A nation prospers on what it produces. It can continue to prosper only so long and in so far as it continues to produce, year in and year out, century after century and millennium after millennium. Production, however, is not enough,the nation must also economize. In fact, production itself is a form of economy.
However much the nation produces, it prospers only in so far as it continues to produce, year by year, more than it consumes and wears out. When every year sees something added to the stock of durable goods, something additional produced for future years, there is an expansion and an accumulation of wealth; in short, there is prosperity. If at any time a nation begins consuming in a year all that it produces that year, the accumulations of the past quickly deteriorate and disappear, prosperity is gone, and poverty lies ahead.
Two primary factors in production. How much a nation can produce will depend primarily upon two things: first, upon its geographical situation, that is, upon how rich its land is in plant food, minerals, forests and power, how favorable its climate is, and how well it is situated for trade and transportation; second, upon its people, that is, upon how energetic and how wise they are in making use of their natural resources. A nation's geographical situation is not easily changed; but the habits of the people may be changed, and these are even more important than the geographical situation. By reason of their energy and wisdom, nations have grown rich and great in the midst of very poor geographical surroundings. Others have grown poor in the midst of rich surroundings by reason of their lack of energy or their unwisdom. A nation can therefore control the factor upon which its prosperity most depends; which means that it can, in most cases, be as prosperous as it deserves to be, or that it must blame itself and not its geography if it does not prosper.
