Why Nations Fail is a well penned book, which wrestles with a large question that many ponder everyday- why are some nations rich, while others are poor, divided by wealth and poverty, health and sickness, and food and famine? The authors, Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson, explain that the answer to this question is that modern day political and economic institutions determine economic success. Political institutions can be split into two groups- inclusive and exclusive. Inclusive political institutions, which are key to success, include a broad distribution of political power. This power is limited, by means such as elections and constitutions. Inclusive economic institutions encourage property rights and contracts, as well as promote starting …show more content…
Acemoglu shares that he worries that America’s increasing gap in economic inequality will eventually disrupt the equality of America’s institutions as well. He states, “The real problem is that economic inequality, when it becomes this large, translates into political inequality.” If a single person or group can fund an entire campaign, it can be expected that the elected official will be reluctant to listen to and work with those who have conflicting opinions. Since elected officials play a large part in determining economic policy, it is crucial that they are elected fairly, and that they will represent the views of the nation as a whole, and not just a certain interest group that happens to fund their campaign. It was also interesting reading how America got where it is today, as far as the political system. The authors explain, “Countries such as Great Britain and the United States became rich because their citizens overthrew the elites who controlled power and created a society where political rights were much more broadly distributed, where the government was accountable and responsive to citizens, and where the great mass of people could take advantage of economic opportunities”. It makes me wonder what caused the USA to go from being a very equal country politically, to potentially being very biased
The environmental movement in politics is often overplayed causing people to loose interest in the issue, but Jarred Diamond makes it impossible to ignore the issue in his book Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. Jared Diamond hopes to catch as many peoples attention as he can; the name alone, “Collapse”, makes him appear to be an alarmist looking for attention. He has just cause though for blowing the whistle on society. He makes parallels to previous failed societies and to modern societies showing how the practices that we employ are similar to these failed societies. He is suggesting that America, as well as other countries, are headed down the path of ecocide more possible a global ecocide. Through his extensive research and numerous examples he makes it impossible to argue with his thesis. While all of examples seem redundant and like he is over emphasizing the point he does this to show his thoroughness. He also does it to show that he is correct. Diamond does not want to be wrong; he is a major author who gets a lot of attention when he releases a book. People look to discredit Diamond’s work. Due to this he gives ample resources to support this thesis.
I felt like the author could clearly show the true contributing factors of the civil war. As an admirer of history, I could use utilize his book for references later on in my academic studies. The book is 127 pages chronicling the events that led to the civil war. Holt gives novices history readers a wonder firsthand look into the world of young America pre-civil war. His book brought out new ways to approach the study of pre-civil war events. The question whether the Civil War was inevitable or could have been derailed was answered in The Fate of Their Country. Holt places the spotlight on the behaviors Politicians and the many congressional compromises that unintendedly involved the actions of the residents of American. These factors at hand placed the Civil war as inevitable. Most of the politician’s views in The Fate of Their Country were egotistical and shortsighted which left gaps in American’s social future. To consider the subject of why, first we need to understand the contributing causes, America’s great expansion project, the Manifest Destiny the driving factor behind the loss of virtue and political discord.
Fostering Nation? Canada Confronts Its History of Childhood Disadvantage written by Veronica String-Boag explores the oversights and the demanded promise of a century and more of child protection efforts by Canadians and their governments. String-Boag draws on a perspective that examines Canada’s marginalized youngsters between the nineteenth to the twenty-first century. The novel examines many different aspects about childhood disadvantage ranging from institutions, birth parents, state policies, and foster parents. This provides the audience with an endless reminder that the welfare of children cannot be separated from institutions and the community. But how well does String-Boag’s novel go about displaying the history of childhood disadvantage
At one point in time poverty was the general fact of the world. Man was always expected to live on the line of poverty, majority of the economic thinkers couldn’t see the world moving away from this standard but we did and have gained great affluence. As society has grown from this poverty stricken state it once was in, into an affluent one, the ideas used to run it have yet to change in some ways. In The Affluent Society, John Kenneth Galbraith explains how with great economic growth there should be growth in economic ideas as well.
War has been a consistent piece of mankind 's history. It has significantly influenced the lives of individuals around the globe. The impacts are amazingly adverse. In the novel, “The Wars,” by Timothy Findley, Soldiers must shoulder compelling weight on the warzone. Such weight is both family and the country weight. Many individuals look at soldiers for hop and therefore, adding load to them. Those that cannot rationally beat these difficulties may create Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Tragically, some resort to suicide to get away from their insecurities. Troops, notwithstanding, are not by any means the only ones influenced by wars; relatives likewise encounter mental hardships when their friends and family are sent to war. Timothy Findley
Have you ever sat in history class wondering why all the societies you are learning about are failing? Maybe you learned about Ancient Greece, or Ancient Rome, or even Ancient India. All these places did not succeed because of three main reasons. One reason is because powerful leaders die. Many things can go wrong after the death of a leader, for example, the army failing or the empire being invaded. Another reason is natural disasters happen. Disease is a big natural disaster that has been a factor in societies perishing. The last main reason that societies fail is because they expand too fast. Significant societies have perished because of the deceasing of powerful leaders, natural disasters, and rapid expansion.
Throughout history the world has experienced several types of socio-economies, from Mussolini’s fascism to Mao’s communism. All of those economies have its weaknesses and strengths and most have countries that can validate its effectiveness. However, to decide which economy is truly better for society, there has to be criteria on which to judge the economy’s effectiveness. So what is a society? In essence, it is a network of bonds we as human beings forged under the assumption, that working together we can all be happier than if we were only looking out for ourselves. With society, everyone is able to concentrate on what they do best, reap the benefits from the skills of others, and avoid the conflict that would arise otherwise. Thus, it follows that the ultimate goal of society is the happiness of everyone. And currently, there is only one economy that has staved off the test of time and reached that goal. Capitalism, with its merit system, flexible cost adjustments, and by having no other economic contenders is able to achieve a better society than any other socio-economic system can.
In Failure Is a Good Thing, author Jon Carroll refers to failure as a learning experience. Carroll explains that failure is needed for growth, that failure may keep a person “on their toes” so that they may never get too comfortable with what they are doing. He also goes on to state that failure is something that we should all strive for, ironically, in order to feel a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment. Carroll refers to his family, his friends, and his own experiences with failure and how they solidify his beliefs. Jon talks about his job as a columnist and how every week someone’s column has to be the lesser column.
Making decisions is a routine in our daily lives, these actions contribute to how we operate in our society. “Why did history take such different evolutionary courses for people of different continents?” was the question that fascinated Diamond to reveal the patterns of human history. According to the professor of Geography at the University of California Los Angeles, Jared Diamond, in his article “Why do some societies make disastrous decisions?” he describes the factors in failures we commit that have led to societal collapses by breaking it down as a road map. The author makes a strong suggest that “First a group may fail to anticipate a problem before the problem actually arrives. Secondly, when the problem arrives, the group may fail to perceive the problem. Then, after they perceive the problem, they may fail even to try to solve the problem.
Firstly, there is a need to understand what is meant by development. It is defined as “the continuous and positive change in the economic, social, political and cultural dimensions of the human condition, guided by the principle of freedom of choice and the limited capacity of the environment to sustain such change.” (Sharpley, 2003: 8-7). Sharpley (2000) explains how theories of development have progressed; Firstly the ‘Modernisation Theory’ (1950s- 1960s), in which societies are seen to switch from traditional to modern only through economic growth. Next is the ‘Dependency Theory’ (late 1960s), this takes into account the historical and economic structures of developing countries, distribution of benefits, social players such as local elites, state interests and private companies, and situations in which an economy and development of a country can be conditioned by a more dominant country (Santos, 1970). The ‘Neo Classical Counter Revolution theory’ (1980s) was made to fit in with global events such as the economic depression, and development policies that build upon dependence on free market. Finally, ‘Sustainable development’ (late 1980s) is the theory that creates the encouragement for development of many developing countries. This theory aided by government policies of backings, tax breaks, and incentives. These theories have developed through growing knowledge of evolving processes, and dismissal of past theories (Sharpley, 2000).
Why do nations fail? This is a topic of popular debate with many economists and a question many scholars have struggled to find an answer to. Global poverty is an issue that economists Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson investigate and provide an alternative insight for in their book: ‘Why Nations Fail’. Acemoglu and Robinson investigate inequalities that exist across countries and why nations are an epitome of success and others, failure. They come up with an alternative explanation for why standards of living differ across countries, and why a gap exists between the rich and poor. The book introduces an example of two cities that are separated by a border: Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Sonora. On the American side of the border, the income of the average household is $30,000, the population is relatively healthy, and the citizens live prosperously (Acemoglu & Robinson, 2012). On the opposite side of the border in Mexico, majority of the population do not own a high school degree, poor health conditions exist, poor infrastructure and unfortunately, high infant mortality rates (Acemoglu & Robinson 2012). How can situations on opposite borders be so different? The basis for Acemoglu and Robison’ s thesis for this phenomenon is that of institutions. They propose that that there is a strong correlation between economic and political institutions. That is, inclusive political institutions support inclusive economic institutions, and extractive political institutions support extractive economic institutions (Acemoglu & Robinson, 2012). Democratic institutions generally allow opportunities for the majority, leading to positive economic growth. Political institutions that look after a narrow elite is reinforced with stag...
The richest people who seem to keep getting richer have been walking into their wealth since the day they have been born. It has been proven by how the companies have been popping up around the world, how the companies are being bribed by governors trying to make their state seem more economically powerful. “Philips, Sony, and Toyota factories are popping up all over—to the self congratulatory applause of the nation’s governors and mayors, who have lured them with promises of tax abatements and new sewers, among other amenities.” (Paragraph 17) People are born into their jobs, and are doomed for their economic boats. IN other countries such as China, it has been proven that the families with the moneys are the ones with the money, are the ones with the economic power. “Many wealthy Chinese and western residents moved their money abroad and some actually left the colony. By 1971, the Cultural Revolution in China had ended in failure and conditions in Hong Kong calmed,” (Lannom) such as Gloria Lannom states, yet it took a while for Hong Kong to rebuild its economic standings because of this
Robert D. Kaplan’s article “The Coming Anarchy," is best summarized by the following quote, which identifies the different factors that he evaluates throughout his article, “To understand the events of the next fifty years, then, one must understand environmental scarcity, cultural and racial clash, geographic destiny, and the transformation of war.” (Kaplan, 1994) This is the framework that he uses to make his supporting arguments and thus this summary will be broken down into these four main parts.
...an overabundance of information all applicable to the topic. My feeling was that such an overwhelming load of facts and systems directed me away from the most important facts of the chapter. Its imperative that the student understands the small scale relationship to economic development. Therefore my attempt was to highlight the main topics of the chapter and relate them to the reader to provoke intrest and thought towards many of these important life changing situations that occur everyday. If one can see past all the theories primarily and see the cause and effects behind them, they’re appreciation for the ideas stated in the theories.
To conclude, Why Nations Fail is a simple novel that explains the authors view on why our world is the way it is today. Some countries are abnormally rich and powerful while others are left in the dust. Although some of their points are vague and don’t necessarily come across as simple reasons, they do a great job at trying to sum down this huge question into a well written novel.