Why Governments Fail adds a note to an ongoing global conversation about human existence regarding life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The authors argue that in contrast to Montesquieu’s theory that certain regions of the world are too hot to allow for human productivity or the Protestant Ethic theory that only Christians can excel as superior humans, the real contribution to optimal communities is good governance. Or rather that, bad governance is to blame for poverty. He says unlike Jared Diamond’s claim that guns, germs and steel gave Euro America a leg up on Latin, African and Asian cultures, a political structure that allows people to effectively express themselves is the key to nation state success. In short, a government that doesn’t “extract” from or exploit (Karl Marx) the public but rather provides the means such as protections to build companies, including anti-monopoly and intellectual property protections, secures banking structures and provides law enforcement is the fertilizer for take-off.
Certainly, Fukuyama’s writings on governments’ usurpation of violence, endorsing Max Weber’s theory that the state’s legitimate use of violence, suggest that law enforcement has improved social Trust (another Fukuyama book), helping people focus on positive contributions to society.
While Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson, the authors of Why Nations Fail agree that trust is a factor in an effective social structure, they reason that trust is the result of effective governmental institutions like police, courts and laws.
I certainly agree that our social contracts, beginning with the Magna Carta and moving forward through the U.S. Constitution and the Constitutions of many other nations has made a positive contribution to our current state of peace.
Stephen Pinker makes a compelling argument mostly mathematically in his Better Angels of our Nature that we’re living in the most peaceful time in human history. However, he stops short of saying precisely why that is and he might agree with the authors of Why Nations Fail that effective governance provides a positive contribution.
However, I’m not convinced government is the fulcrum from which all other social structures hang. While I don’t believe that Christians have a monopoly on work ethic, I do think spirituality encompassing all philosophies and dogmas including atheism contributes positively to people’s voluntary self-control. After all, all the policies and police we could muster wouldn’t stop humanity if we all wanted to destroy each other. Religion or personal philosophy is at the heart of our public conduct.
Government policy is one of numerous nodes that balance the reality of the human condition in coordination with spirituality, innovation and technological development, creativity and drive. While government can augment or inhibit human nature, our species’ unique intellectual, spiritual and emotional drives are at the heart of the numerous social forces creating our communities.
35-Year Public Affairs & IT Professional 