Lots of work to do! The U.S. economy is hot, but what about the rest of the world?

• Author: Wiesner, Pat

It seems that this information has been around for a number of years, but I didn't see it until last week. And I can't get it out of my mind. See if it has the same effect on you.

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I took these figures from the "Family Care Foundation" website (www.familycare.org), although since then I have seen similar info on a number of sites.

If we could reduce the world's population to precisely 100 people but with all existing ratios remaining the same, the demographics would look something like this:

* The world would have 60 Asians, 20 of whom would be Chinese.

* There would be 14 Africans, 12 Europeans, eight Latin Americans, five people from the U.S.A. and Canada, and one from the South Pacific.

* 51 would be male, 49 would be female.

* 18 would be white, 82 would be nonwhite.

* 33 would be Christian, 67 would be non-Christian including 20 Muslims.

* 80 would live in substandard housing.

* 67 would be unable to read.

* 50 would be malnourished and one would be dying of starvation.

* 33 would be without access to safe water.

* 39 would lack access to improved sanitation.

* 24 would not have any electricity.

* Seven would have access to the Internet.

* One would have a college education.

* Two would be near birth, one near death.

* Five would control 32 percent of the world's wealth, all five would be U.S. citizens.

* 33 would be receiving, and trying to live on, 3 percent of the world income.

An interesting list, wouldn't you say? The problems implied by this list are staggering (not to mention that there are millions fewer women than men!)

If I were given this list without knowing which country was which, it would be very difficult to come up with the place that the United States and Canada hold. What happens when China gets all those people educated and producing?

If it were just a matter of human horsepower, the nonwhite, non-Christian, illiterate would be running the world. But that's not the case.

My idea is that there are basically two reasons for our position of power. The first is education. Up until recently anyway, the United States and Europe have been the best-educated countries in the world. Between us we have had the best-trained minds, the best engineers and scientists, the best administrators. And we have almost all the money.

The second thing we have is more important than the first. We have liberty and freedom. And everyone in...