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Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty by Daran Acemoglu and James A. Robinson Crown Business, 2013, 544 pages ISBN-10: 0307719227
"Why Nations Fail" attempts to explain in excruciating detail why some nations succeed and thrive economically while others simply fail. The authors argue that the end all answer is "institutions." Developed countries are the ones that create "inclusive economic institutions" that diversify opportunity and power in the hands of many, (i.e., the free market, capitalist institution of the U.S.) These inclusive institutions allow anyone to succeed, to share and proitect their ideas and to have the means to succeed. Failed nations employ "exclusive instituItions" where power is consolidated in an elite group of oligarchs and technocrats who control "the economy and are able to exploit people and resources to their own end only, without sharing wealth. Inclusive economic institutions breed inclusive political systems, where everyone has a vote and the mass of society can effect political change and secure liberties. Exclusive institutions are the opposite, stifling individual rights and controlling the political process.
The argument that institutions alone determine the economic success of a nation is simply naïve and disregards geography, natural resources or lack thereof, military might, and international relations. While inclusive institutions are a common thread amongst successful nations, they are the...