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)

Learned a lot with this book

Fantastic book on insights on nations history, economics and politics

Great insights on how nations fails from diverse perspectives

Very interesting depiction to say the least

This manuscript. Of why nations fail. Is that very important way to look at things from the other side of history I recommend this to anybody who is interested.

Especially if you are a history, buff and interested in governmental novels or history about political institutions. It gives you a well-rounded perspective. Although for being written in 2012. It is not bad at all.

Furthermore, it is also a very good book if you are interested in national decline, history of nations and empires.

Space for Trump Needed

This is a comprehensive global look at nations that have traded democracy for despotism, progress for stagnation, and enlightened leadership for one-person rule. From Orban in Hungary to Mugabe in Tanzania, the authors take us on a wild ride in which those who seek absolute power fall victim to absolute corruption. When a nation's top official somehow ends up winning the top prize in a national lottery, you know the nation is bound for hell. The authors give our own would-be strongman his due, but recent events ("I will only be a dictator for just one day") show Donald J. Trump to be in the mold of many leaders who have ruined their countries through nepotism and incompetent leadership. This book is both fascinating history and a warning to the future. Let us hope we can heed that warning.

great for understanding foreign pretexts

Just an overall great experience to peer into the somewhat objective pasts of lesser known histories.

Very insightful

I think it's a solid improvement on past theories of economic development. This book deserves to be widely read. May it influence the world.

Must read for anyone born in a developing county!

Although repetitive, this is an excellently researched book that gives clear insight into the subject and provides solutions in broad strokes. Highly recommended!

Must-read to understand underlying forces

The forces underlying each economy, society, nation or state you will ever be part of in are in some way outlined by the theory of extractive and inclusive institutions laid out in this work. It's a comprehensive all-encompassing must-read that I'm sure will soon become the mainstream paradigm for understanding how to shape and improve national economies and political systems.

Great for history entusiast

Really interesting theories with many examples that opened my eyes of new dimensions of power and how it is gained, controlled and lost

The foundations of nationhood - exposed!

Where does Why Nations Fail rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is my top book - ever. I'm an immigrant to the US and read one book a week, and over 30 years that's a lot of books. I'm not sure that this book will be so compelling for US born Americans - but it certainly could be. Comprehensive and complete. Maybe a little long and disjointed for some listeners - but not for me. I loved every moment! Go Brazil!

What other book might you compare Why Nations Fail to and why?

Perhaps "The man who loved China"... or "Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World" - both of which explored sweeping changes throughout history. This book is more though - it exposes the interweaving social systems that cause history to unfold as it does

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

Dan is a non obtrusive narrator. A master of the craft.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. Too many sections and stories to savor and digest.

Any additional comments?

I have 3 teenagers - and these 2 landmark books - "Why Nations Fail" and "Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture" would be my first 2 additions to their "education". I know better than to suggest them though (the education of parents through experience :)

A benchmark

Would you consider the audio edition of Why Nations Fail to be better than the print version?

Listening to this book first allowed me to absorb the big over riding concepts in a relaxed manner. This also allowed me to appreciate the consistently high quality of writing style. I bought the book after listening to it in its entirety so I could reference some of the minutiae of this important work

What was one of the most memorable moments of Why Nations Fail?

About two chapters in you realize this is an important piece of scholarship that points the study of politics and the science of economics in new directions.

What about Dan Woren’s performance did you like?

Yes. The perfect voice for this work.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The history of extractive elites resisting the evolution of inclusive democracies