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Summary
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Why Nations Fail, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Global Inequality and Economic Growth
History and Institutional Change
Cycles of Wealth and Poverty
Diversity, Pluralism, and Empowerment
Summary
Analysis
Why Nations Fail is Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson’s attempt to explain the profound disparities between rich and poor countries. While Acemoglu and Robinson were writing the book, the Arab Spring revolutions rocked the Middle East, fueled by widespread poverty and anger at the elite ruling class. In general, the Middle East is far poorer than developed countries. For instance, Egyptians make 12% as much as Americans and live ten years shorter—and many countries fare far worse.
Acemoglu and Robinson introduce their research through a timely example. The Arab Spring exemplifies the severe consequences of poverty and inequality around the globe. One of the key questions the authors address is in the book whether popular movements like the Arab Spring can truly fix systemic political and economic problems.
Themes
To understand why Egypt is so poor compared to nations like the United States, Acemoglu and Robinson look to Egyptians themselves. Egyptian protestors participating in the Arab Spring uniformly blame their nation’s troubles on corruption and the repression of civil liberties. They demand political change because they understand that politics is the true source of their economic problems. However, most academics and commentators disagree with the protestors: they blame Egypt’s poverty on geography, culture, or incompetent but well-meaning leadership.
Acemoglu and Robinson suggest that it’s puzzling that Egyptian protestors and academics disagree about the causes behind Egypt’s economic problems. After all, both groups are supposed to be experts on the issue. This book is dedicated to bridging this gap by finding a better explanation for inequality—an explanation that must be actionable. The geography and culture explanations are problematic because they suggest that there’s nothing a nation can do to escape underdevelopment. But Acemoglu and Robinson want to show that there are legitimate paths from poverty to prosperity.
Themes
Acemoglu and Robinson believe that the protestors are right and the academics are wrong: Egypt is poor because a small elite dominates the country’s political and economic system and runs it for its own advantage. Most poor countries are poor for similar reasons. In contrast, rich countries like Great Britain and the United States are rich because they have democratic governments that distribute power more evenly and guarantee political and economic rights to all.
The authors present their theory as unconventional within the context of academia. But by showing that protestors agree with them, they point out that this theory is also common knowledge on the ground in poor countries. Many people who live under elitist, unequal institutions—which the authors call “extractive”—clearly understand that the government doesn’t serve them.
Themes
It generally takes a revolution to build a prosperous government. For instance, in 1688, the English people seized broader political and economic rights through the Glorious Revolution. In contrast, Egypt has been ruled by one repressive elite after another. Patterns of repression like this one tend to repeat themselves—except when revolutions interrupt them and create more egalitarian societies. By studying these patterns, the authors hope to show why some revolutions succeed in creating widespread prosperity and others fail. But it remains to be seen whether the Arab Spring will succeed, too.
Acemoglu and Robinson suggest that, in every society, elites and the common people are constantly struggling over power. In England, the people were successful in the Glorious Revolution and have maintained their upper hand ever since. But in Egypt, the elite has won time after time, maintaining its power for centuries. In other words, Egypt is caught in a cycle of underdevelopment because its political system is too elitist. But this seems to be the norm throughout history. Countries only achieve economic growth when the masses break this cycle of elite domination. Protestors might do this in the Arab Spring, but they also might not—the authors will go on to argue that the cycle is much stronger than it seems at first.
Themes
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