Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power - Book Report/Review Example

Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power In the present business and social environment, ‘how a nation fails’ is an area of utmost importance as well as interest. However the reasons for failure are different according to different authors. For example Scher highlighted that civil war is one of the reasons for a nation’s failure (Scher). Again in this context Israpilov described that few nations are getting highly impacted by globalization (Israpilov). Now the book why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty by James A Robinson and Daron Acemoglu entails about the fact that the nations which embraces extractive economic and political institutions are more prone towards being poor. On the other hand nations with those factors included are expected to be wealthy and rich. The existences of pluralistic and centralized establishments are the key factors towards the survival of economic institutions. It is a fact that to a certain extent economic growth is probable under the extractive establishments, but such growths are not at all sustainable. In this context an example can be cited where the growth did not sustained for the Soviet Union or the Roman Empire in the later parts. As the impact of the global financial crisis started to reduce, the two fundamental issues pertaining to the global economy started to reemerge once again. It is about the gap or difference between the poor and rich nations of the world. In the earlier days there were hardly any concepts of such gaps and it is also a fact in the future there will be no such concept. However the present reality is surprising. It portrays the maximum level of differences among the countries in terms of their wealth. As highlighted by the author, that individuals may have been living in below poverty in a country, but the same individuals can be affluent once they shift bases into some other countries. The authors of the book use the example of twin town of Nogales in Mexico and USA on another part, where they have clearly highlighted why the concept of boundaries are imperative (Acemoglu and Robinson). In order to find the gap between a rich country and a poor country, scholars from various fields of the society have tried various techniques of research. Often the scholars practiced technocratic approach to find the rationale. In the year 1960 after strong researches the scholars found that poor countries are the one which lacks capital power. On the other hand in the year 1980, the concept was further changed, and then it was highlighted that the poor countries were those which had poor financial policies. Although after many conclusions the actual gap or the rational is remained unknown to the human beings. Hence in order to shed light and offer more insights in this area both the authors James A Robinson and Daron Acemoglu tried to depict the relation between economic outcomes and the political environment of a country. Their approach was solely ingrained towards the economical establishments. Furthermore the authors also spurned the geographical and cultural context in deciding the gaps between the poor and rich countries. The book highlights the fact that, neither geography nor culture can elucidate the differences between cities of USA and Mexico. In the contrary the book offered a striking diagnosis. They illuminated that it is the governments of the respective countries that creates the situation with improper decisions. One type of governments exhibits norms in such a way that it highly discourages any innovation and investment, while certain government protects the rights of individuals, thereby encouraging efforts and investments. Hence it can be easily concluded that emergence of inclusive governments leads a countries towards becoming wealthy. The book has also offered justifications for their proposed theories. In this context they have presented the example of Britain’s industrial revolution. From the ancient times the Spanish and English emperors were enlarged by various factors. Nevertheless with the commencement of European exploration, the economies of the countries such as Spain and UK witnessed radical changes. In UK trading was entirely left into the hands of the privateers, on the contrary trade was controlled by the state in Spain. The decision of UK government was more accurate and therefore the country has undergone glorious economical reforms in the early 1690s. It also went on to actually secure pluralism and depicted signs of economic growth. In similar ways they have portrayed a number of examples which justifies the impact of political scenarios on the economical developments of a country. Although they have spurned the historical concepts, they put emphasis on historical contingencies in their interpretation of findings. The importance of history is therefore cannot be denied in determining the financials of a nation. In addition, with the example of China both the authors tried to prove that without having an inclusive establishment, nations may escape the issue of poverty, but it will be impossible for them to get the full permit of modern prosperity. Therefore from the explanations it is clear that inclusive institutions are imperative as well as obligatory for a nation towards achieving the financial goals. Hence after going through the book it can be illuminated that it offered logical arguments as well as justified each and every arguments by providing corresponding examples. Also another important thing that needs to be mentioned is the content of the book, it is actually packed from beginning to the end, and there is hardly ant indistinct information. Moreover a blend of historical vignettes and modern facts were well portrayed. Some of the chapters of the book need a special mention. For example the chapter which illustrated how nations through the contingent and entropic nature of development transforms from extractive to inclusive establishment, is extremely important. Also the chapter that discussed the theoretical review of the book is imperative. Hence from an overall viewpoint the book was fascinating, engaging and offered arguments as well as information to the readers. Works Cited Acemoglu, Daron and James A Robinson. Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty. New York: Crown Publishing Group, 2012. Print. Israpilov, Sergey. “Failure of the Nation-States in Islamic World.” Orientalreview. Oriental Review., 2011. Web. 05 Oct. 2012. Scher, Steve. “The Failure of a Nation: David Goldfield on the Civil War.” Kuow. KUOW Puget Sound Public Radio., 2011. Web. 05 Oct. 2012. Read More