"The J Curve"

Heard the term ('The J Curve') on Daily Show tonight. It is meant to show that countries can be stable in 2 ways -- a. by being open, b. by being closed.

Open countries such as USA, France, Japan, etc are open to ideas and opinions. Their societies are accustomed to weathering different kinds of troubles with an open frame of mind. These countries are stable because they are open. Things kind of take care of themselves here. Most importantly, they can progress openly, too. Nothing hinders the possibilities (therefore .

Closed countries such as North Korea, Iran, much of the Middle East, etc are stable too, but their stability is limited due to the fact that they are close to any kind of adaptation (therefore on the left half of a 'J'). They fear that change may throw them into the trough of chaos. Open countries often contribute to this by threatening the closed countries and therefore paving the way for authoritarian rules.

Effective and interesting.