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Lots of them live in countries with no military at all to speak of
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Yes they do. They have a proxy military defending them. Not having to defend yourself with a military means you can invest in their things. But not investing in a military when you need one leaves you open to things that might adversely affect your quality of like. Like a nuke going off in your home town.
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Access to technology impacts quality of life, but the inventor and his or her country of origin does not.
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The inventor's home nation is more likely to enjoy the fruits of his labor first.
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Economics certainly matters, but not in terms of "mine's bigger than yours". That has no bearing at all.
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Sure it does. A larger economy is more likely to be stable in the long term. You of all people should be able to appreciate that.
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China's economy is massive compared to say, Bermuda's or Norway's, but the two far smaller economies have a far higher standard of living for the average citizen.
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China's economy is not massive at all when compared to it's population. They have a little over half our GDP, but five times our population, and the standard of living reflects that.