International Investing

This excerpt is from Charles Darwin’s The Journey of the Beagle, published in 1839. As you can see from this passage he recognized the role of property rights in the ascent of man above a substinance living:

Whether we look at it as a cause or a consequence, the more civilized always have the most artificial governments.  For instance, the inhabitants of Otaheite, who, when first discovered, were governed by hereditary kings, had arrived at a far higher grade than another branch of the same people, the New Zealanders, — who, although benefited by being compelled to turn their attention to agriculture, were republicans in the most absolute sense.  In Tierra del Fuego, until some chief shall arise with power sufficient to secure any acquired advantage, such as the domesticated animals, it seems scarcely possible that the political state of the country can be improved.  At present, even a piece of cloth given to one is torn into shreds and distributed; and no one individual becomes richer than another.  On the other hand, it is difficult to understand how a chief can arise till there is property of some sort by which he might manifest his superiority and increase his power.