Since man first put ink to paper, he has been trying to understand his origins, not only of his species but his culture. Why is the world the way it is? What human decisions and tricks of fate went into shaping the life around him? These are valid questions that, for centuries, have only had xenophobic answers. For without technology to connect us all, the rich were left to justify their success while the poor were left to lament their failures, neither group able to sufficiently extricate themselves from their own biases long enough to comprehend the roots of a fundamental problem. Why do some societies flourish while others languish? Why do some civilizations innovate while others stagnate? Why do some cultures invent while others stand in stone? It may be that others, in the future, will come upon a more perfect answer for these age-old queries, but I doubt that it will refute the wonderful, incisive contention, of Misters Acemoglu and Robinson, that it is, at root, about institutions and their structures.
From British colonialism in Africa
to the Spanish conquest of South America, from the experiment of the American Colonies to the political freedoms of the Glorious Revolution, Why Nations Fail is a hunt through world history for the secrets that have elevated some nations to the foremost ranks of human history while abandoning others to wither and die in obscurity. Though the vagaries of fate play a substantial role in giving the successful a leg up over the failures, the authors of this engrossing study conclude that a nation's political institutions primarily define its destiny.
If these institutions are Inclusive, established to protect the rights of all citizens while encouraging them to innovate and better themselves, then progress will flow naturally from this foundation of fairness. The people will understand that their ideas and efforts will be honored. They will, in turn, repay that respect with their faith and their service. But if a nation's political institutions are Extractive, existing only as channels through which wealth can flow from the hands of the exploited underclasses and into the full pockets of their plutocratic masters, then stagnation is inevitable. Citizens will be plagued by cynicism and distrust, burdens that erode their productivity while blunting their ingenuity. After all, who wants to innovate for someone else's gain?
Why Nations Fail is nothing short of brilliant. In systematically demolishing arguments for racial, social and cultural causes for the success of nations, Mr. Acemoglu and Mr. Robinson have stripped away many of the societal biases that have lead past theorists astray. Underneath, they have uncovered an abiding truth of human nature, that, by in large, we perpetuate the patterns into which we are born. What those around us celebrate and honor we too will hail. For it is easy, in such light, to see the virtues of a thing when they are being feted. But similarly, what those around us sneer at and scorn we too are bound to denigrate. For it takes a brave soul indeed to stand out among ones peers and declare them to all be in the wrong. This conformity gives our society and its institutions momentum. It ensures that whatever is set in place is bound to be continued for generations to come. For nothing short of revolution can summon the collective will to overturn what has been so fatefully set in motion.
In light of this truth, it is clear that a nation's political institutions are the harbingers of its future. If they are founded on principles of freedom, then freedom will propagate. The people will value those institutions and will work to uphold them. But if those institutions are rotten and shortsighted, then chaos will reign and woe to those idealistic souls who will seek to turn around that momentum. For as Iraq and Afghanistan have so vividly and recently demonstrated to us, the freight train of corruption is neither simply nor safely halted. Generations were necessary for western Europe to overcome its monarchs and implement fairer societies. There is no evidence to indicate that forcing these freedoms on corrupted nations will accelerate this process.
A masterful work that educates the reader on the sins of colonialism and the twists of our history as much as it does on the foundations of our societies. This is unquestionably my read of the year thus far. It deserves all the awards it will hopefully earn. (5/5 Stars)
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