Key Messages
Exploring The Factors That Impact Economic Growth: A Look At Nations’ Economic Histories
False Economy is an incredible book that dives deep into the economy of some of the world’s wealthiest nations.
It examines why these countries have been so successful and explores their respective economic histories to come to its conclusions.
Through the book, you’ll gain a better understanding of what makes the world’s greatest economies tick.
This includes looking at parasitic cities, why certain places produce certain goods, and how oil can make certain societies volatile.
All these factors bolsters your knowledge on global economics.
If you’re curious as to why some countries prosper while others fail and want a better idea of how governments work, then False Economy is definitely something you should check out!
The Divergent Paths Of The United States And Argentina: How Different Choices Led To Opposite Fortunes
The False Economy book provides us with an important insight – that it is the choices made by Argentina and the United States, not fate, which resulted in their vastly different economic states today.
Both countries began their journey to independence in a similar way: Argentina was inspired by the American Revolution, while America was officially recognized as an independent nation in 1789.
The similarities continued with their abundance of rich agricultural land at both their disposals but the paths diverged when they chose different ways of developing those lands.
America empowered its citizens and encouraged foreign investment to its agricultural resources while Argentina opted for a few elite providing no incentive or motivation for farmers to give it their all.
A rejection of foreign investors and globalization took its toll on Argentina even further during the 20th century as industrialization spread throughout the world.
The US embraced trade opportunities while Argentina shut itself off from imports, heavily taxing exports instead.
This resulted in one of the largest government bankruptcies in history 21 years ago proving that making smarter decisions could have prevented such a large blow to their economy.
Cities: Reflections Of Nations’ Economic Success Or Failure
Cities can play a huge role in the overall economic success of a nation.
This can be seen in examples like Rome during the Roman Empire, Buenos Aires and Mexico City today, and many cities across Africa.
In these cases, people have been pushed to the cities due to poor agricultural programs or heavy taxation of rural areas in pursuit of urbanization.
On the other hand, a city can contribute positively to a nation’s economy.
For example, Madrid and Chicago are both thriving and healthy due to their diversity of industries that provide different kinds of jobs for citizens.
The city of Detroit is an example of what happens when an economy becomes too dependent on one industry; it fell into economic distress when automotive sales crashed.
Thus, it is important for cities to develop successful economies that reflect and contribute to the success of their wider nations.
Only then can we see national prosperity as well as urban development.
How Trade Agreements And Political Instability Shape Global Food Export Markets
Farming choices and shipping routes have a dramatic influence on a nation’s trade and economy.
We can look to the United States and Peru for an example – through their trade agreement, the US gets tens of millions of dollars worth of asparagus every year, keeping Peruvian farmers from taking up growing coca plants instead.
Egypt is another example – deciding to grow grains would use up a sixth of their water resources, making it an economically unwise decision.
Instead, they focus on growing herbs and vegetables that require less water while still being able to enjoy the imported meats and grains that they love.
African nations could benefit greatly from exports like coffee but are sometimes hindered by civil wars or dangerous military regimes blocking safe shipping routes.
A journey that should take a few hours could last 24 hours if the route is not safe enough, making it incredibly costly for companies who need to keep goods refrigerated throughout the trip!
All in all, these farming choices and shipping routes can make or break how successful-or unsuccessful-a nation’s trade and economy can be.
Natural Resources Can Lead To Prosperity Or Economic Chaos, It All Depends On How They’Re Managed
When it comes to natural resources, it’s not always a good thing for a nation to find one in their backyard.
In some cases, that newfound resource can be more trouble than it’s worth.
An example of this can be seen in the oil-rich nation of Saudi Arabia, which has high per capita income yet an alarming unemployment rate of 25%.
Sadly, this is due to the mismanagement of their resources, leading to discontent among its citizens.
On the other hand, countries like Norway and Chile have managed to make use of their resources while also avoiding economic turmoil.
This is because they established long-term stabilization funds with any extra money earned from those resources going into a national pot that could be used responsibly and ensure it wasn’t the only source of revenue.
But then there are nations like Sierra Leone or Zambia that haven’t been as successful with their resources – Sierra Leone had its diamonds illicitly traded which prolonged an already devastating civil war while in Zambia, inexperience led to the mismanagement of copper mines which created issues politically and economically.
It just goes to show how natural resources can both bring prosperity but also hinder growth if not managed properly; something African nations need to consider when looking for ways out of poverty and development issues.
Religion Is Not The Determining Factor Of A Nation’S Economic Success
Max Weber’s 1905 idea that Protestants had a leg up on the economic success of Catholics has long been disproved.
While 19th-century Protestant countries such as England and the Netherlands were highly successful, so too were predominantly Catholic nations like Italy, Spain and Ireland.
The same trend has been seen in Asia and the Middle East.
It was fashionable in the 1980s to credit the success of Hong Kong and Taiwan to their cultural traditions of social solidarity over individualism.
However, these countries have been no less vulnerable to economic collapse than any other nation.
The same goes for Islamic societies.
It is true that some may struggle with change or reform, but religious dogma is not what holds them back—it’s bad decisions made by their leaders.
Malaysia and Indonesia prove this case: both being mainly Islamic countries that made sound financial moves to increase their economic success.
At the end of the day, when it comes to economy, it truly doesn’t matter what religion a country practices—what matters are smart decisions from government leaders who understand how to make an economically successful society.
Honesty Is Not Enough: Political Choices Dictate Economic Success
The False Economy book states that, even if a nation’s leader is corrupt, it doesn’t necessarily mean its economy cannot prosper.
As evidenced by the examples of Indonesia and Tanzania, it is often the choices and policies set in place by the government that lead to economic success or failure.
In Indonesia, despite President Suharto’s oppressive regime, his conservative political policies were particularly beneficial for its economy.
He opened up the country to international trading and foreign investment opportunities which stimulated economic growth and Poverty was reduced.
By comparison, Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere’s attempt at self-sustainment caused serious economic issues due to his poor decision-making as president.
His aim of collectivizing farmers led to bribery and extortion occurring on a national scale.
Eventually, he had to abandon this idea in attempt to fix his country’s devastated economy.
Understanding The Power Of Choice: How Russia And China Rewrote Their Economic Fate
No matter what the economic climate of a nation is, it’s not too late for them to turn things around.
This idea is proven through State examples such as Russia and China.
Both have gone through various turbulent times, but made different choices when it came time to changing their economic fate.
Russia serves as an example where change was attempted, but ultimately failed.
In the 1990s, they tried to transition from Tsarism and Communism to a free-market economy; however, this has led to huge repercussions such as them defaulting on their debt in 1998 due to unpreparedness.
This then lead to the centralization of power under Vladamir Putin which put control back in their hands and reestablished a sense of stability- albeit at the cost of fair elections and freedom of media.
Wrap Up
False Economy offers a powerful conclusion: That the current world economic landscape is the result of ongoing globalization, and that some countries have achieved greater economic success by embracing careful policies designed to take advantage of it, while those who have closed themselves off to these processes have suffered economically.
The message of the book is ultimately one of hope—that history tells us it’s never too late to change and adapt, demonstrating that we don’t need to resign ourselves to our fate.
By understanding the past and how economic progress can be made in spite of large obstacles, False Economy encourages readers to strive forward and not give up on their dreams.
