Hi, can anyone explain to me why the US drives the world economy? I know this is a very stupid question to ask, but honestly I know its the wealthiest country in the world, but how can one nation just be the only place for countries to sell their goods at.
America produces AND consumes. You need both, if one of them fails, you have a third world country. Look at china they produce but consume few things, they are still a third world country. Look at latin america, they consume much more than they produce, 3rd world again.
Because vast portions of investment, in other countries, in industry, agriculture, manufacturing, have been driven by US companies. In the heyday of the british empire, britain was the richest country, because their companies, (often granted monopoly rights over the productive goods of other countries/colonies) were more aggressive, more virulent, more ruthless and profit driven than anyone else-and the backing of the crown/navy certainly helped, nobody else could compete fairly, without risking the wrath of the navy, embargoes or sanctions. The us has done basically the same thing, 100-200 years later, only with what-1000% more natural resources than britain ever had, and an equally exploitive and determined corporate culture.
Interesting point. Japan consumes a huge amount of oil and raw material such as coal - I believe in the high 90% of its needs - and it produces a huge amount, Japan is of course a 1st world nation and I think still the 2nd largest economy, but with China and India catching up quickly.
The U.S. produces more than any other nation on Earth. GDP, millions of $ 1 United States 13,201,819 2 Japan 4,340,133 3 Germany 2,906,681 4 China 2,668,071 5 United Kingdom 2,345,015 source: World Bank, 2006
Your rankings are wrong. You compare the US (52 states) with each european country separately. The european community has to be compared as a whole (27 countries compared to 52 states); The size of the population will than also be much more comparable. The European Union produces more than the US. The US comsumes probab ly more. But i don't think you have to be proud to consume more than other countries. Trying to consume the most leads to the end of humanity, once all resources are consumed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)
A much correcter approach is to take the GDP per capita. A small country can be much wealthier than a big one. Big economies don't mean automatically huge wealth. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)_per_capita