Why Nations Fail

The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty

By: Daron Acemoglu, James A. Robinson

Narrated by: Dan Woren

Length: 17 hrs and 55 mins

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)

Will change your world view

This insightful book surveys major civilizations over many centuries and all around to world to provide compelling evidence of the key roles of diversity and inclusion in economic success of nations. A must read for anyone interested in the fates of nations.

Information on the world

This is a DETAILED investigation into the current state of the world and the world throughout history, and does a surprisingly good jobs keeping the information entertaining despite the dull nature of the content. If you like history and geopolitics, hot darn is this book for you

Much recommended!!

Some of the history chapters in the middle did feel a bit long at times, but in the end, it all came well together. Definitely give it a try.

The importance of the institutions

This book is a great read for whom appreciate freedom and prosperity. Freedom and Prosperity arguably is derived from separate institutions and devision of power.

interesting take on nations

The authors fail at their attempts to delegimitize cultural or geographical influences. Instead, they try to separate out inclusive institutions and extractive institutions from the cultural aspects by using their critical juncture model.

The inclusive and extractive models are a great insight into national structures. I feel like the inclusive model should be tested/researched further to develop the concept more. The extractive model seems to be the default settings for human civilization which is why their theory is missing cultural and geographical influences that spawned such a radical transformation of society.

It is a great book even with the authors attempts to dismiss cultural evolution and historical geographical constraints.

A vaccine of clear-thinking

Any additional comments?

A thoughtful, rigorously argued --and very readable!-- Economic History work by MIT professors Acemoglu and Robinson.Authors explore world history from the Neolithic to the present to support a central thesis: Equity is efficiency. Successful societies are the result of egalitarian institutions that allow the exercise of individual rights by everyone and competition based on performance.A vaccine of clear-thinking against both "realist" fatalism and revolutionary messianism. It should be compulsory reading for politicians (and for intellectuals at large) in Latin American and Southern European countries, including mine...

Excellent

Any additional comments?

This book gives a look at the world of pre industrial revolution to current and how policies and institutions have shaped it. This is one not to miss, no matter what your politics this book will give you a reason to reevaluate your preconceived notions of society

It's the politics, stupid!

Would you listen to Why Nations Fail again? Why?

After having read Jared Diamond's book "Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Survive", it was enlightening to read this book which offered, in my opinion, more compelling arguments for why nations and civilizations fail than just the more geographical reasoning offered by Jared Diamond and other authors trying to explain this phenomena. The core explanation offered is rooted in different societies ability of developing inclusive political institutions and distributive economic institutions leading to economic prosperity and political stable nations versus developing exclusive political institutions and extractive economic institutions leading to poverty and authoritarian regimes. To repeat one of the other recommendations: "And their conclusion is a cheering one: the authoritarian "extractive" institutions like the one's 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".

What does Dan Woren bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Excellent read.

Most insightful book on this topic I ever read

I have had a deep interest in international politics and understanding global development since I was in grade school. Reading everything from “War guns and Votes” to “Lords of Poverty”. After listening to the likes of Jeff Sachs and Mohammad Yunus, I all but gave up on the idea that countries could really turn their fortune around.

This book provides a sober look at what is really at the core of the problem and beautifully illustrates that while change is very difficult the path to success is actually fairly straight forward.

Great listen, and should serve as a blue print for anyone wishing to understand or influence global poverty.

Compulsory reading for all.

l loved this book. Reading it was mind expanding. The book is full of insights on why some nations are underdeveloped. It utilizes copious examples to support its claim that extractive institutions causes poverty, suffering and pain to the masses, while few elites live in splendour.

It even proffered cogent though difficult to implement solutions. According to the authors only a broad coalition with the support of the media could lead to extractive institutions morphing into inclusive institutions, which brings much more wealth to the populace.