The document compares characteristics of poor and rich countries to determine what makes some countries wealthy and others impoverished. It argues that the difference is not related to a country's age, natural resources, race, or intellectual ability. Rather, the key difference lies in the attitudes and principles embraced by a society, such as ethics, integrity, responsibility, respect for laws, work ethic, savings, and punctuality. These attributes tend to be followed by the majority in rich countries but only a minority in poor countries. Adopting these functional principles of wealthy nations, the document concludes, is what is needed for poor countries to improve their economic conditions.