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The Tyranny Of Experts: Economists, Dictators, And The Forgotten Rights Of The Poor (2014)

by William Easterly(Favorite Author)

3.77 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0465031250 (ISBN13: 9780465031252)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Basic Books

review 1: A review of the history of international development and political economy, with the thesis that much international effort has centered on an arrogant racist tinged opinion that "experts" know better what a country needs than the people themselves. Much for both sides of the political aisle to like, as the author argues that these programs often end up just helping dictators oppress their own people, and instead we should focus on good government, free trade and democracy, which has been proven to be the key to development in developed countries. Sometimes seems to skip around a bit, and I'm not sure if the author made his point (a rather good one in my opinion) as well as he could, but worth reading if you are interested in the subject.
review 2: I have said a... moreloud some of the points of this book, especially when referring to Haiti and other "states" where basic rights such as property and contract law are limited to a few rich families. While he makes excellent arguments as to why good government (and accompanying reliable measurements) is critical to reducing poverty, he doesn't seem to favor helping desperately poor peeps barely surviving amid bad government (e.g. Somalia). I think some compassion is needed regardless of economics. It's worth reading along with a few Gates Foundation annual letters because peeps can see the contrast between the imperative for individual rights and good government (this author), and technological solutions with measurement in autocratic settings (e.g. Gates). The author's best argument is the importance of free migration, i.e. if an individual can be more productive in another country, returning some of his or her earnings to his home country, "experts" should not count this as bad or brain drain or whatever. Any peep who is more productive contributes more to the world's GDP, generally a good thing. less

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