Wealth that is not valued ends up being lost

My colleague Andrés says that Spain is a poor country.

But according to the World Bank, Spain was, in October 2021, the fourteenth country with the highest nominal GDP.

There are approximately 193 countries in the world, therefore, Spain is among the richest 7% of countries in the world by nominal GDP.

If we talk about GDP

, Spain would move to position 33 (always according to data from the World Bank), which means that it would be among the 15% of the most prosperous countries in the world in terms of GDP per capita.

When I share this data with Andrés, he tells me that he compares Spain with “similar countries”.

I gather that he is only considering the most opulent in Europe.

But why not compare, for example, with those from North Africa or Latin America, with whom we share proximity or language?

If Spain belongs to the 15% of the richest territories in the world, then Spain is a rich country.

I think that, in order not to lose that abundance, we need to be aware of it.

Because what is not valued ends up being lost.

Does the world end in the West?

Paradise

, by Abdulrazak Gurnah, is a novel about the slave trade in Africa.

My friend Luisa tried to read it, but she couldn't.

She says that she was not able to catch her interest.

She is the third European person I know who has put the book down halfway.

However, the reviews are almost unanimously excellent.

A good way to become aware of the wealth we enjoy is to know the situation of the rest of the countries of the world

It seems that we Westerners find it difficult to take an interest in what happens beyond our borders.

It gives the impression that, for us, what is beyond our territory simply does not exist.

I think that a good way to become aware of the fortune we enjoy is to know the situation of the rest.

Of course, from countries that are richer than us, but also from other poorer regions.

Abdulrazak Gurnah's work reflects the reality that certain parts of Africa face.

Casa Africa is an inter-administrative public law entity that works to bring Africa and Spain closer together.

On his website we find more details about the work of this author:

Abdulrazak Gurnah was born in 1948 in Zanzibar, Tanzania.

He is an English novel writer.

The theme of refugee disturbance runs through all of his work, since he began writing at the age of 21 in British exile.

His research focuses on post-colonialism and, breaking with convention, changes the colonial perspective to highlight that of indigenous populations.

In 2021, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature for his "moving description of the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugee in the abyss between cultures and continents."

Gurnah's novel

has been described as "an evocative portrait of the African continent" by

and as "a book that depicts the social and religious dynamics of Africa" ​​by

.

Sometimes we Europeans have trouble looking beyond our borders.

Reading Abdulrazak Gurnah's work can be a good way to combat our lack of interest in what is different.

Miguel Forcat Luque

is an economist from the Complutense University of Madrid and an official of the European Commission.

The article does not necessarily reflect the point of view of the institution for which he works.

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