Most of the wealthy countries in the world today are liberal democracies with more or less free trade. An exception to this rule are the oil-rich countries, not all of which are liberal or democratic. Most of the poor countries in the world are dictatorships, with heavy restrictions on trade. China is a poor country which is rapidly becoming rich, and is trying the experiment of combining dictatorship with free trade. Whether it is possible to have the advantages of free trade without other freedoms remains to be seen.