Why Nations Fail

Last year, in October 2024, two MIT authors of the book “ Why Nations Fail, the origins of power, poverty, and prosperity” were awarded the Nobel prize for economic science for 2024 together with James A.  Robinson of the University of Chicago.
      Very respectfully, I must say that I do not agree with the conclusions in this book. The authors ascribe poverty and prosperity to the presence/absence of “inclusive institutions” and “ extractive institutions” in the economic history of each country. If the right institutions exist, the argument goes, the scientific and technological units tend to be built for the economic advancement of those nations.
      1  I ask: can entire countries wait for 300 years (pg. 444) for institutions to truly start working? Can’t imagine Syria or any country agreeing to wait for that long for prosperity to commence.
      2. My book “A Whole New Country!” offers a simpler explanation. I do not deny the existence of poverty, but I claim that the best way of overcoming poverty is by also studying the origins of its opposite, prosperity, and learning from it. When you do this, the solution to this centuries’ old problem practically falls into your lap! This solution is nothing other than modern science and technology (MoST) - and I proceed to show how.
      3.  There are different explanations for colonialism. My book states that colonialism came about because of three things. First,” geography of the imagination”, second,” the lonely man, exploring” , both views first outlined by Daniel Boorstin and lastly, by the emergence of the gunned ship. In my view, this explanation hews  more closely to the historical truth. For example, the subjects of botany and medicine were also constantly slowed down by the same erroneous geography.
      4. In many places in the book, the USA is indicated as successful because of its singular institutions.  After our recent collective experience, it must come as a rude surprise to find that it has taken barely a few months for these esteemed institutions, including those of the Constitution, the institution of education, the institution of law, as well as of the rule of law to be nearly “ obliterated”. -AB