Classic example of economic theory managing to dress up a kind of ahistorical theology as respectable science.

Consider this: if you take 'countries' as given (questionable), and some become rich whereas others remain or become poor, by induction you'd expect those trends to continue. A country that has remained poor for decades is likely to remain poor for decades, etc. "Bad governments" and other conditions that create poverty are not some kind of mean-reverting aberration.

The economists will carry on though, and thanks to their connections with finance and government, their prestige will never truly wink out.