Brilliant and engagingly written, Why Nations Fail answers the question that has stumped the experts for centuries: Why are some nations rich and others poor, divided by wealth and poverty, health and sickness, food and famine? Is it culture, the weather, geography?
Perhaps ignorance of what the right policies are? Simply, no. None of these factors is either definitive or destiny. Otherwise, how to explain why Botswana has become one of the fastest growing countries in the world, while other African nations, such as Zimbabwe, the Congo, and Sierra Leone, are mired in poverty and violence?
Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson conclusively show that it is man-made political and economic institutions that underlie economic success (or lack of it). Korea, to take just one of their fascinating examples, is a remarkably homogeneous nation, yet the people of North Korea are among the poorest on earth while their brothers and sisters in South Korea are among the richest. The south forged a society that created incentives, rewarded innovation, and allowed everyone to participate in economic opportunities.
The economic success thus spurred was sustained because the government became accountable and responsive to citizens and the great mass of people. Sadly, the people of the north have endured decades of famine, political repression, and very different economic institutions—with no end in sight. The differences between the Koreas is due to the politics that created these completely different institutional trajectories.
Based on fifteen years of original research Acemoglu and Robinson marshall extraordinary historical evidence from the Roman Empire, the Mayan city-states, medieval Venice, the Soviet Union, Latin America, England, Europe, the United States, and Africa to build a new theory of political economy with great relevance for the big questions of today, including: - China has built an authoritarian growth machine.
Will it continue to grow at such high speed and overwhelm the West? - Are America’s best days behind it? Are we moving from a virtuous circle in which efforts by elites to aggrandize power are resisted to a vicious one that enriches and empowers a small minority? - What is the most effective way to help move billions of people from the rut of poverty to prosperity?
More philanthropy from the wealthy nations of the West? Or learning the hard-won lessons of Acemoglu and Robinson’s breakthrough ideas on the interplay between inclusive political and economic institutions? Why Nations Fail will change the way you look at—and understand—the world."
Chief, the NuriaStore bookseller –
Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus has helped millions of couples transform their relationship. Now viewed as a modern classic, this phenomenal book has helped men and women realize how different they really are and how to communicate their needs in a way that conflict doesn’t arise and intimacy is given every chance to grow. Men and women will learn how to understand each other better by reading this book.
#1 Men and Women’s Complaints
The most common complaint women have about men is that men don’t listen. Here the complaint is that he ignores her when she speaks to him or he quickly assesses what’s troubling her and then offers a solution to make her feel better. He gets confused by this when she doesn’t appreciate. She just wants empathy but he thinks she wants solutions. Stop giving unsolicited advice and show compassion and listen to your partner.
On the flip side, men complain that women are always trying to change them. She thinks she is caring for him while he feels he’s being controlled when all he wants is her acceptance. She presumes a man doesn’t know what to do and he can’t do it on his own. Men want to prove their competence by achieving things themselves.
#2 The Cave
Men and women cope with stress differently. Men become focused and withdrawn whereas women become overwhelmed and emotionally involved. During these times men feel better by solving problems while women feel better by talking about their problems. In times of stress men will retreat to their caves and becomes quiet over a solution and then gradually comes out of their cave. If he can’t find a solution he’ll do something to forget his problems like watch TV or play a video game. He needs space. Women on the other hand feel better by talking about their problems. She wants to express herself and feel understood before finding solutions. A woman will appreciate a man if he truly listens.
#3 Rubber Band Metaphor
A rubber band is a metaphor for the male’s intimacy cycle. Men get pulled away and then get close again. Men have an instinctive urge to pull away from time to time. This is commonly misunderstood by women especially when they try to share their feelings. However a man should at least reassure their partner of when they’ll come back.
A woman is like a wave. A woman’s self-esteem rises and falls like a wave. Men can get confused and frustrated thinking that they’ve made her upset. Let’s return to lesson one, don’t give unsolicited advice during this time. Also after listening to a woman don’t expect her to feel better straight away.
#4 The Best Gift Is Love
No matter how big or small a gift of love is for a woman it scores just one point, but in a man’s mind a bigger gift means more points. Let’s say Danny raised his income from $50,000 to $100,000 to support the family. To him that may be worth 50 points but to his wife that’s only 1 point. Likewise if he bought an expensive car for his wife as a gift of love it would still be worth one point. No matter how much he paid for the car. This can explain why men get confused when their wives aren’t satisfied. Giving your wife two kisses, hugs and a compliment could score you many more points than if you were to buy her an expensive watch.
#5 Men and Women are Different
“Honey are you okay?”, “I’m fine” she says. She might be fine but she might not when a guy says he’s fine. So to fully express their feelings women speak poetically. They use superlatives, metaphors and generalizations. Men mistakenly take these expressions literally and misunderstand the intended meaning. So what should you do? Look deeper and find the underlying issue.
Here’s an example, Sally says “The house is always a mess.” and Cecil replies “Are you kidding me? I always clean the house and before I’m finished you mess it up again.” Now this is a bad way of responding because what she really may mean is “I need to relax today but the house is messy. I’m frustrated and I need to rest. You clean a lot for me but for today could you please offer to help clean.” Try not to take everything literally especially when emotions are running high, otherwise you’ll get frustrated.
Lets take another example. Sally says “You don’t love me anymore” but what she really may mean is “Today I don’t feel loved. I know you love me. I’m just feeling a little insecure at the moment. Would you reassure me of your love?” Don’t expect to be perfect at reading women straightaway. It takes time and effort to get to know how your partner behaves.
Final Thoughts
This book is written on one of the most controversial topic, which is differentiating men and women. Intention of author is not to prove one down but to make us more understandable to one another. If you want to get deeper into the relationship, then this book worth a shot.