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I recommend everyone interested in this subject to read "Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty" by Daron Acemoglu It's a great book t

by F_r_k 9y ago

I recommend everyone interested in this subject to read "Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty" by Daron Acemoglu It's a great book that tries to explain why.

cinquemb 9y ago
I came across this 36 page lecture[0] with the same title in by another person with the author, for those who want some insight without buying the book. Interesting to read, and it seems like it comes down to: - Because they have extractive political and economic institutions. - These are difficult to change though they can be successfully challenged and altered during critical junctures. - The roots of modern world inequality lie in the emergence of inclusive institutions in Britain and the fruits of this - the industrial revolution - spread to those parts of the world that had similar institutions (settler colonies) or quickly developed them (Western Europe). - Other parts of the world languished with extractive institutions which have persisted over time and thus remain poor today. With caveats of: - History is not destiny. - Effective reforms towards inclusive institutions possible. - But it often necessitates a minor or major political revolution. Two examples: 1 End of Southern equilibrium in the United States 2 Botswana I think I was drawn to this part in the lecture and started thinking about what modern day analogous of this could look like (Jamie Dimon's position on crypto-currencies as of late [specifically bitcoin] as modern day Sultan wrt firing employees trading such [and other well politically entrenched financial institutions around the world], DPI on internet networks by various nation states from blocking easy access to information, etc) : - In 1445 in the German city of Mainz, Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press based on movable type. Spread rapidly throughout Western Europe. - In 1485, the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II issued an edict to the effect that Muslims were expressly forbidden from printing in Arabic. [0] http://www.lse.ac.uk/assets/richmedia/channels/publicLecturesAndEvents/slides/20110608_1830_whyNationsFail_sl.pdf http://www.lse.ac.uk/assets/richmedia/channels/publicLecture...

by F_r_k 9y ago

I recommend everyone interested in this subject to read "Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty" by Daron Acemoglu It's a great book that tries to explain why.

cinquemb 9y ago

I came across this 36 page lecture[0] with the same title in by another person with the author, for those who want some insight without buying the book. Interesting to read, and it seems like it comes down to: - Because they have extractive political and economic institutions. - These are difficult to change though they can be successfully challenged and altered during critical junctures. - The roots of modern world inequality lie in the emergence of inclusive institutions in Britain and the fruits of this - the industrial revolution - spread to those parts of the world that had similar institutions (settler colonies) or quickly developed them (Western Europe). - Other parts of the world languished with extractive institutions which have persisted over time and thus remain poor today. With caveats of: - History is not destiny. - Effective reforms towards inclusive institutions possible. - But it often necessitates a minor or major political revolution. Two examples: 1 End of Southern equilibrium in the United States 2 Botswana I think I was drawn to this part in the lecture and started thinking about what modern day analogous of this could look like (Jamie Dimon's position on crypto-currencies as of late [specifically bitcoin] as modern day Sultan wrt firing employees trading such [and other well politically entrenched financial institutions around the world], DPI on internet networks by various nation states from blocking easy access to information, etc) : - In 1445 in the German city of Mainz, Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press based on movable type. Spread rapidly throughout Western Europe. - In 1485, the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II issued an edict to the effect that Muslims were expressly forbidden from printing in Arabic. [0] http://www.lse.ac.uk/assets/richmedia/channels/publicLecturesAndEvents/slides/20110608_1830_whyNationsFail_sl.pdf http://www.lse.ac.uk/assets/richmedia/channels/publicLecture...