Prior to its 1848 constitution, Switzerland was a confederation of states, each of which was sovereign and independent, bound together by a treaty of mutual defense from external aggression.

As a country, it was the most economically developed in Europe. There was a focus on knowledge and education to compensate for the lack of natural resources, and the Swiss were globally networked and energetic traders ...

Switzerland has at least six structural advantages which keep it ahead of its peers for a while longer: (1) Decentralization (of political powers), (2) Subsidiarity (the principle of doing decisions at the lowest possible level), (3) Direct Democracy, (4) Free Trade (except agricultural imports), (5) Neutrality in foreign politics and diplomacy, and (6) Entrepreneurial innovation (still ranking fairly high, although its worldwide ranking has deterioreted in the 21st Century).

The fact that economics once prevailed in Switzerland gives hope that its primacy could be re-established some day.

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