Getting back to the original question: lots of home in the Third World DO burn or fall down; nor is it all that rare for entire neighborhoods to be devastated. COmpare the death toll in any third-world hurricane or earthquake to an equivalent US disaster. They lose thousands; we lose one or two.
Yes, I also question the self-serving positions taken by some code advocates- but, I can't help but wonder how many lives are saved by our codes.
Evidence to the effectiveness of codes can be seen in the differing insurance rates around the US, which are often related to the local codes. No code or AHJ= high rates. Even if fuse boxes are still NEC legal, try getting fire or mortgage insurance without upgrading to 100-amp circuit breaker service!
