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J. Rogers: Address to Peace Summit 2023, Session VII-A
Written by Mr. Jim Rogers, Chairman, Rogers Holdings and Beeland Interests, Singapore
Thursday, May 4, 2023
Address to Peace Summit 2023
May 2-5, 2023
Throughout history, philosophers and politicians have tried to figure out a way to bring prosperity to nations, but frequently that path involved war.
It may surprise some of you to know that 430 years ago, the Japanese invaded Korea. The reason they invaded was because Korea had silver mines and a Korean had discovered a way to smelt the ore into silver. The Japanese wanted to increase their wealth, so the decision was made to invade and steal the smelting process.
Japan did not admit the true motivation; instead, they said the invasion and later colonization was to “liberate” the Korean people. Throughout history, many people have claimed one thing, but the truth was usually different and related to riches and prosperity.
Karl Marx, the German philosopher, understood this basic truth. He was the author of Das Capital, which along with the Communist Manifesto are the basis of Marxism. He knew that capital is needed to develop a society, an economy, and prosperity. This basic principle of the economic system has been known throughout history. Without capital there is no growth and development.
Wars have started because of somebody trying to get somebody else's money. The politicians and the generals will blame it on the “evil” enemy. However, there's much less likelihood of war if there is economic prosperity.
Look at the well-known examples of Germany and Vietnam. At one point, both nations were divided and in conflict, but now that both countries have equal prosperity, there is no longer a state of war between East-West Germany and North-South Vietnam.
Despite the two Korea’s shared history and culture, a night-time satellite image of the peninsula shows a dramatic difference. North Korea is almost dark compared to the south, in other words, South Korea has electricity, and the North does not. North Korea does not have prosperity. The 38th parallel boundary will someday open, and eventually the north will have electricity and prosperity -- and more.
When that day comes, Blackpink and The Bangtan Boys (BTS), the South Korean girl and boy bands, respectively, will be there. Everybody will be happy and drinking tea, coffee, and beer together and having a good time!
The point is this: If we can bring prosperity to the north, we will also bring peace. And that is generally the case in most parts of the world. If you read your history, you will find that prosperous nations that trade with each other frequently do not go to war with each other. They are more likely to go to war if there's something they think they need from other people, as the example I cited, the Japanese invaded Korea to get the smelting process. Back in the mid-17th to late 18th century, the British and the Netherlands fought wars over shipbuilding because the Dutch were the best shipbuilders in the world and the British needed the ships to expand their empire.
Our challenge is to open the world economy to trade and prosperity. If there is trade and prosperity, then there won’t be as many politicians fighting each other and trying to get money from somebody else. Nations must find their way towards economic prosperity, so they won’t have to worry about fighting with “evil foreigners.”
Politicians love to blame their problems on foreigners. Whenever something goes wrong in a country, the politicians never say, “this is my fault.” They always say, “those foreigners, those evil foreigners. Their hair is different, their skin is different, their language is different, their religion is different.” They blame it on the foreigners.
If we can have prosperity, if we can have open trade with each other so that we can all prosper together, then the lessons of history are very clear. When nations are prosperous and trade together, then there is usually a state of peace. When there are economic problems, that's when the politicians blame the foreigners, and we start having wars and fights.
I look forward to the day when the 38th parallel is open, when the DMZ is open, the DMZ no longer exists, and the north and south are trading with each other, drinking tea together, eating rice, and whatever they want to do.
When we're all together trading and prospering, we will have much, much more peace. If we can figure out a way to bring prosperity to the countries, we will bring peace to the world.
The world is much better off with peace than with war. I'm old enough to have lived through some war times. It ain't much fun. Peace is much better.
Thank you.
To go to the Peace Summit 2023 Schedule page, click here.