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0 pointsadventured9y ago0 comments

> Australia exports minerals but is relatively well-developed.

Have to say that's a significant understatement. Australia now has the world's #1 or #2 richest median household in regards to net wealth. Their economic boom the last 20 years was almost entirely due to commodities + China.

Canada is in the same boat as Australia. Highly developed, well off middle class, high wealth creation the last 20 years. Almost entirely due to the commodity boom over that time.

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snrplfth9y ago

Uh...minerals and fossil fuels are around about 4.5% of Canada's GDP, and declining as a percentage of the total. To say that the economic growth over the last 20 years has been "almost entirely due to the commodity boom" is completely at odds with reality.

gaius9y ago

We won't know until we see what happens at the point that the minerals are mined out, or demand for them drops off e.g. an economic downturn in China. They could be more-or-less OK like the UK was when coal became uneconomic to extract, or they could implode like Cuba when the Soviets stopped buying sugar.

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