Review: Why Nations Fail – The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty

5 Star, Culture, Research, Democracy, Economics, Politics, Public Administration
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Deron Acermoglu and James Robinson

5.0 out of 5 stars Helpful to Most, Can Be Summed Up as Integrity & Clear Feedback Loops,August 17, 2012

There is no question but that this book is a major contribution to the current dialog, such as it is. As someone who reads a great deal, I have finally come to the same conclusion as Will Durant, Buckminster Fuller, and Russell Ackoff:

INTEGRITY is the one word that matters. If organizations, including political organizations, have INTEGRITY, the nation prospers. If they do not, poverty prevails. INTEGRITY is about much more than personal “honor.” It is about being able to see the whole, connect the dots, achieve rapid constant open feed-back loops among all elements of the complex system, and so on.

Nations fail when education is reserved for the elite, and the elite lose their INTEGRITY. When the burden becomes too great and the masses rebel, they can either re-create the corrupt system they are bringing down, or they can branch toward a system of systems where INTEGRITY prevails.

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