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Title: The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor by David S. Landes ISBN: 0393318885 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: 01 May, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.45
Rating: 2
Summary: Don't believe the hype
Comment: While it is easy to get sucked into this book as a result of David Landes' smooth writing style, the content and more importantly the research behind his book is wildly flawed. Landes refers to himself as a source more times than I can count, and relies wholly on Adam Smith as a methodology for his economic analyses. Moreover, he often uses sources out of context. His research has clearly been conducted to prove a point, and not to support a possible hypothesis. He uses sections of several works that disagree with his thesis wholeheartedly just to make his point seem more valid. The bibliography of this book is lengthy and impressive, but the endnotes are certainly not. Not only are both exceptionally dated views of the world, but they are also simply inaccurate. With specific references to his analysis of Latin America, I am exceptionally disturbed. His coloquial writing style, while making the book seem more accessable to readers unfamiliar with development theory, is often offensive to those of us who are aware that the New World's poverty was not as simple as mere "macho warlordism" leading to "economic retardation." His assumptions are abrasive and incorrect. If you purchase this book, do so only to see what all the hype is about but read it with a pound of salt, rather than a grain.
Rating: 5
Summary: Location, Location, Location.
Comment: Excellent explanation on how geographical location either nurished or starved a civilizations evolution.
Rating: 4
Summary: The Big Question
Comment: You and I are part of a fortunate minority. We are literate, we have access to phones and to the Internet, we are likely (save some unexpected disease or misfortune) to live to an old age. We are almost certainly belonging to what is known as 'The First World', or to small rich minorities within the rest of the world. Most people in this world do not have those privileges - we live in islands of fortune within an ocean of poverty. And professor Landes tries to understand why. He tries to find out what is special about Western civilization (and Japan) - why Japan and the West got rich while the rest of the world lagged behind, and most of it still does.
It is by the nature of such a book to be controversial, and Landes doesn't pull his punches; his approach is neoclassicist, although hardly a dogmatic one. He is rough on Postmodernists, Saidian Anti-Orientalists, French and Japanese protectionists, Spanish Roman Catholics, and many others. Among the reviews you'll read here, Landes irritates Catholics, third world enthusiasts, anti-Western intellectuals, extreme right wind Capitalists, anti-Japanese, and so on, and so on.
So, you've got controversy. But what is Landes actually saying? Well, in brief, Landes book focuses on three major reasons for Wealth/Poverty: Geography, Infrastructure, and Culture.
The discussion of Geography, early in the book, is at best half hearted. Some of the points seem valid - but you're always inclined to say 'On the other hand'. Are there really fewer diseases in Europe then in Africa? maybe, but transportation is easier. The black death annihilated a third of the European population in the 13th century. Does Heat makes labour harder and less efficient? I guess the builders of the Pyramids haven't heard Landes's thesis - or maybe hardships can be overcomming with whipping.
The best parts of the book deal with Infrastructure. In these, Landes has three main themes: Freedom, Capitalism and Science (Or, if you wish, Anarchy, Greed and Heresy).
Freedom allows people to do things. Landes portrayal of the centrally planned economies of ancient China, where the Emperor ruled everything, is powerful, and it seems to play a large role in the lack of initiative in China, despite the great achievements.
Capitalism, most noticeably in the form of Greed and Competition, drives people forward. Again, Landes comparison between the Chinese and the European Sea quests are enlightening. Europeans went in small ships, eager to outdo the competition and to come back making a fortune. The Chinese went with huge Ships, symbols of the empire rather than instruments of trade. They were unprofitable, victims of the ruler's whim, and, without a strong faction of interested merchants, had no chance of continuing throughout. Also interesting is that Europeans went looking for India and spices, while China was self-sufficient.
Science - Chinese science was much more sophisticated than European science back in the year 1,000. The Indians have invented the zero. But nowhere except in Europe did science work methodically, nowhere else was it progressive. Newton is famous of saying that he stood on the shoulder of giants - discoveries in China and the rest of the world were rarely followed up - gunpowder was discovered in China much before it was in Europe, but the Chinese never used it for weapons. In Europe, it became part of the war methods almost immediately. Landes discussions of clocks and glasses are particularly telling.
The Third Element - Culture - is the one with which I have the most trouble. Landes repeatedly attacks economists for discounting culture (for example in the last chapter, page 517 in my edition). He claims that they disregard it because it can't be quantified. Wrong. The reason Economists distrust culture is because it is such a 'one size fits all' argument. Japanese responds to the west was everything the Chinese should have done but didn't. ... Culture. Arab nations are stuck well behind everyone else, despite the great advantage they have in the shape of oil. ... Culture. Asians manage to pull themselves along, while most of the third worlders can't. ... Well, culture, again.
I'm not saying that Culture plays no part. Obviously it does. But it becomes an obstacle to understanding, and Landes can support it only with anecdotal evidence (a lovely and touching story of a Japanese woman), and unanswered question (Is Islam a cause for the suppression of women? maybe).
Despite this problem, this is a fascinating book. Yes, it is a little too pro-Western. The problem is really more one of emphasis than one of facts - in my view, Landes is pretty close the mark usually, but he much underestimates the responsibility of the West for African poverty. Something's are left relatively unexplained - the current fast rise of China, which might undertake the point Landes made about the vitality of Freedom
But ultimately, as Landes acknowledges, no one book can solve the question of poverty and wealth. The answer is necessarily multi-faceted. 'The Wealth and Poverty of Nations' (neat name, also) is a well-written and intelligent treatment of the question.
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Title: Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond ISBN: 0393317552 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: April, 1999 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Culture Matters: How Values Shape Human Progress by Lawrence E. Harrison, Samuel P. Huntington ISBN: 0465031765 Publisher: HarperCollins Pub. Date: 03 April, 2001 List Price(USD): $19.00 |
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Title: The Elusive Quest for Growth: Economists' Adventures and Misadventures in the Tropics by William Easterly ISBN: 0262550423 Publisher: MIT Press Pub. Date: 08 August, 2002 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else by Hernando De Soto ISBN: 0465016146 Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: 05 September, 2000 List Price(USD): $27.50 |
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Title: Globalization and Its Discontents by Joseph E. Stiglitz ISBN: 0393051242 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: June, 2002 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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