Did you know that the American and British peoples used to own more than two thirds of the cultivated resources and wealth of the world?

That is an absolutely astonishing fact.

Harvard historian Niall Ferguson says the absolute dominance of the Western world cannot be explained by traditional theories. Imperialism, national character, even geography, do not account for how these nations became so tremendously rich and powerful.

There was another, far more important reason they became great, says Ferguson. It was why the Industrial Revolution was so strong in Britain. It was why Western health and life expectancies rose above the rest. It was why by 1970 the average American was 70 times more wealthy than the average Chinese—even though in the late 1500s, it was the typical Chinese who was richer.

But, sadly, the waning of this all-important reason for greatness is why the United States and Britain face financial crisis today. It is why our social systems are fracturing. It is why our economic structure came so close to failing in 2008.

And it is why America and Britain, as governable nations, are facing sudden collapse.

“We are in the midst of a grave deterioration in the quality of Western institutions,” said Ferguson, speaking at the seipr Economic Summit. “The institutions that used to be the best in the world are no longer.”

The reason America and Britain’s institutions used to be the best in the world, according to Ferguson, was the rule of law. But the statistics he quoted show a nation no longer adhering to that rule.

Each year the World Economic Forum (wef) tracks various figures related to national competitiveness. It compiles data such as protection of property rights, how well corruption is avoided, how commonplace bribery is, whether politicians are regarded as ethical, how independent are the courts, and how widespread is organized crime.

Over the years, America’s ranking has plummeted. Here are some of America’s more shameful ratings. For financial auditing and reporting standards, America ranks 40th in the world. America ranks 50th for political favoritism. Regarding the efficiency of law in private disputes, it comes in 36th. It rates 30th for the reliability of police.

Of the top 15 categories related to the rule of law, Ferguson points out that Hong Kong now beats America in every measure. Taiwan beats America in nine categories. And China has better rule of law in two.

Not only did America not once rank first—it only made the top 20 in one category!

“What this tells you,” says Ferguson, “is something is rotten in the state of America.”

Ferguson is absolutely right. Last month’s Supreme Court hearings on the constitutionality of the health-care reform act show how rotten the system is becoming. An abc News poll showed that half the public thinks the U.S. Supreme Court will rule on the legislation not based upon the constitutionality of the bill, but on the basis of the justices’ partisan political views. Less than 40 percent of people think the justices will rule impartially.

When fewer than 4 in 10 people have faith in the system, can that system last?

British historian Paul Johnson wrote, “The rule of law, as distinct from the rule of a person, or class or people, and as opposed to the rule of force, is an abstract, sophisticated concept. It is mighty difficult to achieve. But until it is achieved, and established in the public mind with such vehemence that masses of individuals are prepared to die to uphold it, no other form of progress can be regarded as secure” (Sunday Telegraph, Dec. 26, 1999).

The Greek Empire failed to establish the rule of law, and it collapsed. The Roman Empire also tried and failed to build a society based on law. That empire fell too. History is a list of empires experiencing the same failure.

Johnson noted that “both in Virginia and in New England to the north, the colonists were determined, God-fearing men often in search of a religious toleration denied them at home, who brought their families and were anxious to farm and establish permanent settlements. They put political and religious freedom before riches …. Thus took shape the economic dynamo that eventually became the United States—an experiment designed to establish the rule of God on Earth …” (ibid).

It was the rule of law—God’s law—that really made America great. As is regularly brought out in Trumpet articles, it was obedience to God’s law by Abraham that guaranteed America’s greatness (you can read about that biblical promise here). But it was the subsequent adherence to God’s law that determined how long America’s blessings would last.

The only perfect law is God’s. The framers of America’s Constitution founded much of that document on God’s law as they understood it. But they also knew that the effectiveness of the Constitution and the success of the rule of law were predicated on individual morality.

The rule of law can only be as effective as the willingness of people to abide by it. You can have all the enforcement you like, but if people are trying to cheat the law, they will find a way.

In America, 1 in 17 white males will go to prison within their lifetime. That rate is higher for minorities.

It is a basic premise of the Bible that God blesses for obedience and curses for disobedience. The founders set out to establish the rule of God on Earth. And automatic blessings come as a result of keeping God’s laws.

In 1950, America and the British Commonwealth produced three fourths of the world’s steel. They possessed 95 percent of the world’s nickel; 80 percent of the world’s aluminum; 75 percent of the zinc; almost 100 percent of chromite. Together Britain and America produced two thirds of the world’s rubber and dominated the world’s copper, lead, tin and bauxite outputs. America alone produced half the world’s oil. Britain and America mined 1½ times as much coal as all other nations combined. The British Commonwealth produced two thirds of the world’s gold in 1950—while the U.S. had three times as much gold reserve as the total for the rest of the world.

America had the world’s highest standards of living, its most powerful military and the world’s largest economy. Britain and the Commonwealth were not far behind.

It is up for debate exactly when America’s morality and its subsequent prosperity peaked out, but today, as Niall Ferguson warns, the Anglo world finds itself on a trajectory that will lead to certain collapse. America is already verging on Greek levels of debt and, by some measures, Greek levels of corruption.

The rule of law matters. When you break it, sometimes the effects might be delayed, but there is always a price to pay.

Read Gerald Flurry’s booklet No Freedom Without Law to see how you can avoid the slavery that always follows lawlessness.