Discussion on:

Top 10 wealthiest countries in 2050

How can anyone predict the state of the world's economy thirty eight years from now, and do it with a straight face? It sounds like a study crafted to prove a theory, rather than a theory proven by a study.

Especially when you consider that the third and fourth countries on the future list didn't even make the modern day list.

...who would have predicted that the world would look anything like it does today? Who would have predicted that it would be Communist China financing America endless deficit spending?

And Fareed Zakaria probably just copied Thomas Friedman.

Nice lists. Now, add up the populations of all-but-the-USA.
Little nations get richer and poorer very quickly.
Huge nations (USA, Russia, India, China, and soon, Brazil) get LOTS of people richer steadily and, I'll wager, more evenly.

For a "smart planet" article, a focus only on sheer $$$ wealth and competitive rankings is out of date.

What a smart article should at least include is:
1) The countries citizens well-being, e.g. Bhutan's famouse Gross National Happiness
2) The distribution of wealth among rich and poor
3) The state of the country's environment, ecology, biodiversity.

...without wealth, few things on your list would be achievable by anybody. Few poor societies care much about things like the environment, ecology, or biodiversity.

...the rich have more wealth than the poor! The only reasonable goal is to let the poor (and everyone else) to become as wealthy as possible as fast as possible. And to the extent that studies such as this are true and correct, they perform the valuable function of showing us all which countries are on the right track and which are not.

Any observation of recent history should tell us all that Saudi Arabia will have social problems before 2050