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Why Nations Fail

By: Daron Acemoglu, James A. Robinson
Narrated by: Dan Woren
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Publisher's Summary

Brilliant and engagingly written, Why Nations Fail answers the question that has stumped the experts for centuries: Why are some nations rich and others poor, divided by wealth and poverty, health and sickness, food and famine? 

Is it culture, the weather, geography? Perhaps ignorance of what the right policies are? 

Simply, no. None of these factors is either definitive or destiny. Otherwise, how to explain why Botswana has become one of the fastest growing countries in the world, while other African nations, such as Zimbabwe, the Congo, and Sierra Leone, are mired in poverty and violence? 

Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson conclusively show that it is man-made political and economic institutions that underlie economic success (or lack of it). Korea, to take just one of their fascinating examples, is a remarkably homogeneous nation, yet the people of North Korea are among the poorest on earth while their brothers and sisters in South Korea are among the richest. The south forged a society that created incentives, rewarded innovation, and allowed everyone to participate in economic opportunities. The economic success thus spurred was sustained because the government became accountable and responsive to citizens and the great mass of people. Sadly, the people of the north have endured decades of famine, political repression, and very different economic institutions - with no end in sight. The differences between the Koreas is due to the politics that created these completely different institutional trajectories. 

Based on 15 years of original research Acemoglu and Robinson marshall extraordinary historical evidence from the Roman Empire, the Mayan city-states, medieval Venice, the Soviet Union, Latin America, England, Europe, the United States, and Africa to build a new theory of political economy with great relevance for the big questions of today, including: 

  • China has built an authoritarian growth machine. Will it continue to grow at such high speed and overwhelm the West?
  • Are America’s best days behind it? Are we moving from a virtuous circle in which efforts by elites to aggrandize power are resisted to a vicious one that enriches and empowers a small minority?
  • What is the most effective way to help move billions of people from the rut of poverty to prosperity? More philanthropy from the wealthy nations of the West? Or learning the hard-won lessons of Acemoglu and Robinson’s breakthrough ideas on the interplay between inclusive political and economic institutions? 

Why Nations Fail will change the way you look at—and understand—the world.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2012 Daron Acemoglu (P)2012 Random House

Critic Reviews

"Why Nations Fail is a truly awesome book. Acemoglu and Robinson tackle one of the most important problems in the social sciences - a question that has bedeviled leading thinkers for centuries - and offer an answer that is brilliant in its simplicity and power. A wonderfully readable mix of history, political science, and economics, this book will change the way we think about economic development. Why Nations Fail is a must-read book." (Steven Levitt, co-author of Freakonomics)

"You will have three reasons to love this book: It’s about national income differences within the modern world, perhaps the biggest problem facing the world today. It’s peppered with fascinating stories that will make you a spellbinder at cocktail parties - such as why Botswana is prospering and Sierra Leone isn’t. And it’s a great read. Like me, you may succumb to reading it in one go, and then you may come back to it again and again." (Jared Diamond, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of the best sellers Guns, Germs, and Steel and Collapse)
"A compelling and highly readable book. And [the] conclusion is a cheering one: The authoritarian ‘extractive’ institutions like the ones that drive growth in China today are bound to run out of steam. Without the inclusive institutions that first evolved in the West, sustainable growth is impossible, because only a truly free society can foster genuine innovation and the creative destruction that is its corollary." (Niall Ferguson, author of The Ascent of Money)

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    3 out of 5 stars

Single minded attempt to prove a point.

So I'm half way through and I'm a bit torn about this book. While I mostly find myself agreeing with the author's premise, the book itself is pretty myopic andas a result, boring.

The book can basically be summed up as 'free-market, liberal democracy is the best, it keeps elites in check and creates all the advantages of the West'.

That's fine but the author doesn't set out to uncover the evidence for this, how it works, how it developed etc. but seems content to dredge up examples from history.

Alternative explanations for broad historical trends are brutally straw-manned or dismissed with shameless fallacies in a totally unnecessary exercise at the start of the book in order to make the author's thesis appear to be the singular grand explanation for everything.

On top of all this, the narrator is really boring.

For anyone super into this subject I'd recommend Francis Fukuyamas 'Origins of Political order'. It covers the same ground and actually reaches broadly the same conclusions but does it in a much more comprehensive, informative and honest way.

The book does contain a lot of good material though. I'm pretty much concentrating on the downsides here, it's probably worth a read maybe as an introduction to this kind of subject, but it shouldn't be mistaken for a history book, it's an agenda driven exercise in support of a particular set of ideas.

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12 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars

The secrets of national success and failure

This is an academic book with a serious treatment of its subject, but the explanations are clear and well presented. The authors use examples from countries around the world and through history to show consistent patterns in success and failure.

The encyclopedic examples bring the book alive. As you follow the developing argument, you also develop political and economic understanding of countries you are familiar with. The authors' predictions about the future of the Chinese economic miracle are particularly challenging.

It's a long audio book, but never tedious. Dan Woren's voice is pleasant, and he sounds like he knows what he is talking about.

If I had bought this on paper, it would probably still be on my bookshelf with a bookmark in chapter 1. As an audio book on my phone, it fits my busy life.

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3 people found this helpful

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Terrible Book

A terrible book. Wild assumptions based on marginal evidence, the cherry picking of small scale examples to support the authors agenda, the repetition of points that have already been made.The straw that broke this camel’s back was the misuse of credible sources.
Peter

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A long book that keeps your attention all the way through

Great book that covers all major countries and relevant histories. It is filled with facts and presented in stories that keep readers’ attention. However, one question that remains after reading the entire book was the causal relationship between inclusive society and economy growth. More data to prove the relationship would make this book perfect.

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clear and persuasive

The authors make solid arguments and give numerous concrete examples of their theory throughout history in the world. the delivery by the narrator is a pleasure to listen to.

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Fantastic

Excellent, although at some times repetitive. Until this book I had not heard any reasonable explanation as to why the Industrial Revolution began in Britian.

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Mandatory reading for every citizen!

Clear , concise and entertaining. In a world where information and free press are key , inclusive institutions is what determines the wealth and well-being of nations.

Welll written and greatly narrated.

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Super interesting

Enjoyed this book a lot. Easy to listen too, very interesting. Opened my eyes and expanded my understanding of many historical economic structures.

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A very insightful book

This book has really helped me understand, foment and challenge my thoughts on the processes that have brought different countries to their current status.
I found the historic aspect of the authors arguments especially insightful.

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Naive and assumptious

Single perspective theory and lots of justifications rather than evidence. This book follows the tradition of Das Kapital.

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