--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Natural resources have dropped out of the…" description: "\"Natural resources have dropped out of the competitive equation. In fact, a lack of natural resources may even be an advantage. Because the industries w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/216/lester-thurow-32621_advantage_natural-resources-have-dropped-out-of-th_546110.jpg" --- # Natural resources have dropped out of the competitive… ![“Natural resources have dropped out of the competitive equation. In fact, a lack of natural resources may even be an advantage. Because the industries we are competing for - the industries of the future - are all based on brainpower.” quote by Lester Thurow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/216/lester-thurow-32621_advantage_natural-resources-have-dropped-out-of-th_546110.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/216/lester-thurow-32621_advantage_natural-resources-have-dropped-out-of-th_546110.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/216/lester-thurow-32621_advantage_natural-resources-have-dropped-out-of-th_546110.jpg) > “Natural resources have dropped out of the competitive equation. In fact, a lack of natural resources may even be an advantage. Because the industries we are competing for - the industries of the future - are all based on brainpower.” [Lester Thurow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-thurow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Future economies rely on intellectual capital rather than physical resources; scarcity can be advantageous. **In simple terms:** Brainpower drives future industries, not natural resources. Key Takeaway Invest in education and innovation. Themes economics innovation resource scarcity future trends human capital Mood analytical forward-looking Type economic strategic When to use this quote - policy planning - business strategy - academic research - career counseling - investment decisions Key Concepts knowledge economy strategic advantage sustainability technological development Questions to Reflect On - How can societies shift to knowledge-based economies? - What policies support intellectual capital growth? A Different Perspective Transition to a knowledge economy may be uneven across regions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Advantage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advantage/) [Brainstorming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brainstorming/) [Competing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/competing/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Industry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/industry/) [Lateral thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lateral-thinking/) [Natural resources](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-resources/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Held in the palms of thousands of disgruntled people over the centuries have been ideas worth millions - if they only had taken the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-hayes/held-in-the-palms-of-thousands-of-disgruntled-people-over-the/) Robert M. Hayes > [Imagination is the beginning of creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/imagination-is-the-beginning-of-creation/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Intelligence is something we are born with. Thinking is a skill that must be learned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-de-bono/intelligence-is-something-we-are-born-with-thinking-is-a-skill-that/) [Edward de Bono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-de-bono/) > [In the creative state a man is taken out of himself. He lets down as it were a bucket into his subconscious, and draws…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/in-the-creative-state-a-man-is-taken-out-of-himself-he-lets-down-as/) [E. M. 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P. Guilford ## More by Lester Thurow > [A competitive world offers two possibilities. You can lose. Or, if you want to win, you can change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-thurow/a-competitive-world-offers-two-possibilities-you-can-lose-or-if-you/) [Lester Thurow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-thurow/) > [“Probably no country has ever had as large a shift in the distribution of wealth \[as what we've seen in the U.S. in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-thurow/probably-no-country-has-ever-had-as-large-a-shift-in-the-distribution/) [Lester Thurow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-thurow/) > [We've believed for 50 years that the Japanese are small Americans who wanted to be like us. They are not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-thurow/we-ve-believed-for-50-years-that-the-japanese-are-small-americans-who/) [Lester Thurow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-thurow/) > [Change requires individuals who recognize that new things can be done and who take the initiative to get them done ... The existing bureaucracies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-thurow/change-requires-individuals-who-recognize-that-new-things-can-be-done/) [Lester Thurow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-thurow/) > [Technology and Ideology are shaking the foundations of 21st century capitalism. Technology is making skills and knowledge the only sources of sustainable strategic advantage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-thurow/technology-and-ideology-are-shaking-the-foundations-of-21st-century/) [Lester Thurow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-thurow/) > [The old foundations of success are gone ... 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