From the Mediaeval guilds to the present union movement, all were ironically created by industry through coercion. Law of unintended consequences you might say.
Cuba is an exception, It has been artificially isolated. Given a level playing field, and with their level of education, they are quite capable of contributing to the world economy.
As for the French and the Brits of the 18th century, both countries were equally educated, simply a contest between two educated societies. No comparison to the illiteracy of Haiti and Zimbabwe.
1917 illiterate Tzarist Russia succumbed to communist revolutionaries who stressed education of the masses. The result…………...Sputnik.
