Why are Western countries so rich when most of the manufacturing and production happens elsewhere?

为什么大多数制造业和生产都在其他国家，而西方国家却如此富裕？

以下是Quora网友的评价：

Elvan Çağlar BODRUMLU

Well, I think Western countries are rich because they have developed economies that rely more on services, technology, and innovation rather than just manufacturing and production. They have a highly educated workforce, advanced technology, and a stable political and economic system that attracts foreign investment. Additionally, many Western countries have a history of colonialism and imperialism, which gave them access to resources and markets in other parts of the world. While manufacturing and production may happen elsewhere, Western countries still dominate in areas like finance, technology, and entertainment, which contributes significantly to their wealth.

嗯，我认为西方国家富裕是因为他们有发达的经济，更倚重服务、科技和创新，而不仅仅是制造业和生产。他们拥有受过高等教育的劳动人口、先进的科技和稳定的政治、经济制度，吸引了大量的外国投资。此外，许多西方国家都有过殖民*义和帝国主义的历史，这使得他们能够抢占世界其他地区的资源和市场。虽然制造和生产是在其他国家进行，但西方国家在金融、科技和娱乐等领域依然占据主导地位，这些领域为西方国家的财富做出了巨大贡献。

Lakshmi Ramachandran

Developed Western countries have universal healthcare and education of decent quality with the US as sole exception. They also have social welfare. This is what makes people productive and therefore’ rich’. How does it matter where manufacturing happens? That’s irrelevant.

西方发达国家拥有全民医疗和优质教育，美国是唯一的例外。不过美国也有社会福利。这就是西方人富有的原因。这跟在哪个国家生产有什么关系呢？完全没有关系。

Santosh Kumar

Most manufacturing happens elsewhere. To rephrase, “Most but not all manufacturing happens elsewhere”

大多数制造业都在其他国家进行，应该这么说：“大多数但并非所有的制造业都在其他国家”。

The USA and Europe for example manufacture fighter jets, commercial airlines, semiconductor chip lithography machines, high end alloys, precision instruments, patented pharmaceuticals and precision medicines. Keyword is high end. Wherever it makes sense to manufacture in the West it is done. Wherever it is not feasible due to high cost of labor input vis a vis value addition to end product — the manufacturing is shifted to a low wage country. Finally the west has capital to invest and they ensure high return on capital. Manufacturing is just one piece of puzzle.

例如，美国和欧洲会制造战斗机、商业航空公司、半导体芯片光刻机、高端合金、精密仪器、专利药品和精密药品。发现了吗，关键词是高端制造业。如果由于劳动力成本高，导致终端产品价格上涨，那么制造业就会转移到低工资国家。最后，西方有资本进行投资，能保证较高的资本回报率。制造业只是其中一个领域。

Sathwik Kuncham

It's a common misconception that Western countries are rich primarily because they have outsourced their manufacturing and production to other parts of the world. While it's true that many Western companies have taken advantage of lower labor costs and favorable trade policies in develo countries, there are other factors that contribute to the overall wealth and prosperity of Western societies.

人们总感觉得西方国家之所以富有，主要是因为他们把制造和生产外包给了其他国家，这其实是一种常见的误解。虽然许多西方公司确实利用了发展中国家较低的劳动力成本和优惠的贸易政策，但还有其他因素也促进了西方社会的富裕和繁荣。

First and foremost, Western countries have a long history of technological innovation and scientific research, which has led to the development of many groundbreaking inventions and discoveries. This has enabled Western companies to create new industries and products that have driven economic growth and increased productivity. Furthermore, Western countries have established robust systems of education and training that have helped to foster a highly skilled and adaptable workforce.

首先，西方国家有着悠久的科技创新和科学研究的历史，这促进了许多具有划时代意义的发明和发现的出现。西方公司得以创造新的行业和产品，推动了经济的增长，也提高了生产率。此外，西方国家建立了强大的教育和培训体系，培养了有技能、适应性强的劳动力。

In addition, Western societies have generally embraced free market capitalism and private enterprise, which has created a favorable environment for entrepreneurship and business development. This has allowed companies to compete on a global stage and has attracted investment from around the world.

此外，西方社会普遍接受自由市场zb主义和私营企业，为创业和商业发展提供了有利的环境。西方企业因此能够在全球舞台上积极竞争，吸引了来自世界各地的投资。

Another important factor is the political stability and rule of law that exsts in most Western countries. This provides a reliable and predictable environment for businesses to operate in, and it also helps to ensure that property rights and contracts are enforced. This stability and predictability have made Western countries attractive destinations for foreign investment and have encouraged the development of vibrant financial markets.

另一个重要因素是大多数西方国家拥有稳定的政治和法治环境。这为企业提供了可靠、可预测的环境，产权和合同的执行也有了保障。这种稳定性和可预测性使西方国家成为外国投资的首选目的地，促进了金融市场的蓬勃发展。

Finally, Western societies have a high degree of social and cultural capital, which fosters a sense of trust and cooperation among individuals and institutions. This has enabled Western countries to build strong institutions and infrastructure that have contributed to their overall success.

最后，西方社会具有高度的社会和文化资本，为个人和机构之间培养了信任感和合作感。这使得西方国家能够建立强大的制度和基础设施，为西方国家的成功做出了贡献。

In summary, while outsourcing manufacturing and production may have played a role in the overall wealth of Western countries, it's important to recognize that there are many other factors that have contributed to their success. Western societies have a long history of innovation, a skilled workforce, a favorable business environment, political stability, and social capital, all of which have helped to drive economic growth and prosperity.

总之，虽然外包制造和生产可能在西方国家的整体财富中发挥了一定作用，但重要的是我们要意识到，促成西方国家取得成功的还有许多其他因素。西方社会拥有悠久的创新历史、熟练的劳动力、有利的商业环境、稳定的政治和社会资本，这些都有助于推动经济的增长和繁荣。

Sonny Blarney

Because ‘assembly’ is not a high margin part of the process, it’s a commodity.

Owning the brand, doing the R&D, sales, marketing, distribution … there’s more profit in that.

If I design a widget, I can go to any number of places and have it built. It will be built for cost, plus a tiny margin of profit.

It would cost more to build in the West.

Another way of saying this, is that the develo world sells their labour very cheaply, and they don’t profit it from it that much because unskilled labour essentially a commodity. The ‘buyer’ of the labour gains more advantage than the seller, although they both gain.

因为在生产过程中，“组装”并不是一个高利润的环节。

品牌、研发、销售、营销、分销……这些环节的利润更高。

如果我设计出了一个小玩意儿，我随便找个地方就能生产，只需要支付生产成本，再加上微薄的利润即可。

在西方国家进行生产，成本比较高。

还有另外一种说法是，发展中国家的劳动力价格很低，他们无法从中获利太多，因为非技术劳动力本质上也只是一种商品。虽然双方都有利可图，但劳动力的“买方”还是比卖方获得了更多的好处。

Vern Chan

I’m glad no one here has touched on this yet but it’s really very simple leading into the 21st century and probably beyond. I’ll make this as timeless a principle as best I can.

The greatest gift humanity can have is having a creative, imaginative and a sound mind. The greater any of these in any level, then the better in producing anything of value, it’s not even about doing anything.

See, we are talking about Maslow’s Hierarchy here. We are all essentially also living on the same planet. So, let’s reshape the questions we have in our minds moving forward as well.

大家都漏掉了一点，但这一点真的很简单，可以引领我们进入21世纪甚至更久远。

人类拥有的最好的礼物就是有创造力、想象力和健全的头脑。在任何层面上，这些能力越强，就越能创造出有价值的东西。

我们现在讨论的就是马斯洛体系。我们都生活在同一个星球上，所以，让我们重塑我们头脑中的问题，继续前进。

Who can ever predict the future? AI? Spirituality? No, no one or no thing on earth or in the galaxes. Let’s just say, apply wisdom when you watch the trends and industries begin it’s shift. Everything is always cyclical.

This is also neither from a Western nor an Eastern point of view. It’s a global view. We can live and go anywhere as we please to pursue what we want or set out to do.

谁能预测未来？人工智能？神灵？不，地球上或宇宙中没有人或物可以做到。我们只能说，如果看到趋势和行业开始转变，要运用智慧。一切都是周期性的。

这既不是西方的观点，也不是东方的观点，这是一种全球视野。我们可以随自己心意去任何地方生活，追求我们的梦想。

In conclusion, the right question the original author intended to ask is two-pronged:

Why can’t I get a high paying job or profit where I am living or operating out of?

Why are my competitors in another country (quoted as above ‘western countries’) better off than I am financially?

总之，题主想问的问题其实有两个方面：

为什么我不能在我居住或工作的地方获得一份高薪工作或高额利润？

为什么我在另一个国家的竞争对手(上面引用的“西方国家”)在经济上比我富裕？

This is more appropriate as it breaks down the generalization into one specific person, background, intelligence or personality. That will answer the deepest part of the answer anyone seeks.

My answer is ironically a question in response from my personal and professional viewpoint: Who are you and how do you bring value?

把问题根据特定的对象、背景、能力或性格进行拆分来对比，更为合适。

从我个人和专业的角度来看，我的回答是一个具有讽刺意味的问题：你是谁，你要如何创造价值？

Tej Pal Singh Saran

west is rich because of true capitalism which drives them ahead in technology which help them conquer the world , rule it , loot it and invest that money in newer technology and arms race with other european country makes them stronger and stronger but with god grace they fought two destructive war ww1 and ww2 all jews and european money went to america so it replace britain but now after cultural revolution in west there is a downfall in there productivity and quality so USA has a super weapon h1b1 visa and all the gr8 minds from the world come to usa and with money they make new technology but my future hope is china and india both are getting rich and accepted true capitalism and with in 2 to 3 decades chinese with leader in technology . IN SHORT WEST BECOME RICH AND POWERFUL THROUGH TRUE CAPITALISM.

西方之所以富有，是因为真正的zb主义推动了他们在科技上遥遥领先，帮助他们征服世界，统治世界，大肆掠夺，并把这些钱投资于新技术的研发，与其他欧洲国家之间的军备竞赛也促使他们越发强大，但他们引发了两场极具破坏性的战争，一战、二战后，犹太人和欧洲人的所有财富流向了美国，所以美国取代了英国的地位。

在西方大革命之后，他们的生产力和质量出现下滑，所以美国祭出了超级武器H1B1签证，世界各地的人才汇聚美国，他们用钱研发新技术，但我希望中国和印度可以越来越富有。在未来20到30年内，中国将成为科技领域的领导者。简而言之，西方国家是通过真正的zb主义变得如此富有和强大的。

Michael Jun

Those rich countries do have a large manufacturing industry for high or extremely high value products. France and the U.S. make space rockets, bullet trains, fighter jets, nuclear reactors etc. Switzerland manfuctures expensive cancer drug. Germany makes high precision optical instruments and lens. One stealth bomber the U.S. makes is worth 1 million TV made in China. By focusing on high tech and high value manufacturing they can stay wealthy.

这些富裕国家拥有生产高价值或极高价值产品的大型制造业。法国和美国制造太空火箭、高铁列车、战斗机、核反应堆等，瑞士生产昂贵的抗癌药，德国制造高精度光学仪器和透镜。美国制造一架隐形轰炸机，可以抵得过中国制造的100万台电视机。他们集中精力发展高科技和高价值制造业，就可以保障富裕了。

Luís D Oliveira

To produce something, you need capital (money you invest) and labour. The value added by the productive process is distributed between the provider of capital (the investor, in the form of profit or interest), and the provider of labour (the workers, or, if you don't want to sound as left wingy, the employees, in the form of salary).

In the modern global economy, while most of the labour in the manufacturing industry is provided "elsewhere", the capital is provided from the West, and that's where the profit returns.

要生产某种商品，你需要启动资金(投资)和劳动力，而生产过程增加的价值会被分配给资本的提供者(投资者，以利润或利息的形式)和劳动力的提供者(工人，或者你想避开左翼的标签，可以称之为雇员，以工资的形式)。

在现代全球经济中，虽然制造业的大部分劳动力来自“其他国家”，但启动资本却来自西方，这就给西方提供了利润回报。

Anonymous

The old story: The market price of Iphone 5 16 Gb about $650. The 16GB model carries a bill of materials worth $188. So about $450 receive a well-educated, innovative citizens of Western countries for ideas and engineering. Workers in China receive about $12 for 1 Iphone

内存16GB的Iphone 5的市场价格约为650美元，原材料价值188美元。因此，大约450美元是支付给受过良好教育、有创新精神的西方国家公民的创意和设计费用。中国的工人每组装一部Iphone可以赚取12美元。

Sérgio Afonso

Contrary to popular believe the western countries haven't deindustrialized. The percent of manufacturing industry in the GDP has remained the same. What happened was that other sectores grew in share of the GDP. Besides, the service sector is highly productive in the West. That is also why those countries are wealthy.

与人们的普遍看法相反，西方国家并没有去工业化。西方国家制造业占国内生产总值的比例一直保持不变。实际情况是，其他行业在GDP中所占的份额出现了增长。此外，西方服务业的生产率很高。这也是这些国家如此富裕的原因。

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