"New York in the late 1900's was unbelievably corrupt, yet ..."
New York in the 1900's may have been as corrupt as Cameroon today, also the development of New York at that time may be comparable as the development of Cameroon now days.
And it's not the level of development that's the issue, it's the rate of growth. 1900's New York was getting much richer every year. The African countries are almost all either stagnant or actually getting poorer.
New York in the 1900's may have been as corrupt as Cameroon today, also the development of New York at that time may be comparable as the development of Cameroon now days.