The document compares characteristics of poor and rich countries, finding that differences in age, natural resources, and intellectual capacity are not determinative factors. Rather, the key difference is the attitudes and principles followed by a country's people - namely ethics, integrity, responsibility, respect for laws and others, work ethic, savings, initiative, and punctuality. These principles are largely followed in rich countries but only by a minority in poor countries. The document argues that countries are poor not due to lack of resources or nature but due to lack of the right attitudes and failure to teach principles that make societies rich and developed.